Adamo
by Andrio
Summary: A fanfic series focusing on Shepard and Tali's friendship, romance, and love, spanning Mass Effect 1 through speculative Mass Effect 3.
1. A Friend

_**A Friend  
**_

Although they had met only hours ago, Commander Shepard could tell he was going to get along very well his new quarian crew member, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. She was obviously skilled in combat, and the fact that she managed to extract data from a geth memory core—something alliance research teams had repeatedly failed to do with the disabled geth found on Eden Prime—was a testament to her technological genius and wizardry. But even beyond her all that, there was something unique about her.

Tali was a very special person. It was obvious immediately after they had met. She was friendly and polite as she spoke, and there was always a sense of humility in her words. She gave up the evidence Shepard so desperately needed without asking for anything in return. Information was a valuable commodity in the galaxy, and what she had was worth a large fortune. Yet she had gladly given it up; her only concern was to do what was right and submit it to the proper authorities, and repay the man who had saved her life in the process. Beyond that, after the evidence had served its purpose, she asked to be allowed to join on their mission, putting her pilgrimage—an important rite of passage to all quarians—aside so that she could help stop someone who threatened the galaxy.

All of this appealed to Shepard. He was a man who longed to forget his harsh upbringing, and the positive, cheerful energy the spunky quarian radiated gave him joy; it gave him a feeling of peace. He had grown up in poverty on Earth without parents or family, and was forced to scrap together a meager existence through petty crime, relying on the street gangs of Earth's metropolises for survival.

Being raised in such an environment, with no real guidance throughout childhood, would often have a negative impact on a person; forging them into an uncaring, rebellious individual. But it had the opposite effect on Shepard. Having experienced firsthand all the darkness and negativity that life can offer a person, he came to have a clear understanding of what was wrong, and by extension, what was right. He realized that he hated immorality; it had always brought him nothing but mental and physical anguish.

He wanted to flee from the negativity of his life. He knew there had to be something better, and when he turned eighteen, he went looking for it in the depths of space; he joined humanity's Systems Alliance, and he found it. He found a life he could feel proud and satisfied with, and took great joy and knowing he was working towards positive goals. He quickly progressed in his military career. Just a few years after enlisting, he demonstrated unparalleled bravery and skill as he risked his life repelling a large assault against the human colony of Elysium. In addition, Shepard had also achieved N7 status; the highest proficiency of the Alliance Special Forces. And just hours ago, after presenting the evidence given to him by Tali, he had become a Council Spectre. He was the first of his entire species to achieve the position.

"Today has been such an amazing day," Tali said as the elevator from C-Sec Academy began its assent to the docking bay.

"Tell me about it," Shepard said with a grin, still in awe over the events of the day.

"I can't believe I was actually allowed up in Citadel Tower! That I stood before the Councilors themselves, and saw history happen firsthand. Thank you so much for letting me come along," the cheerful and energetic quarian said.

"Thank _you_ for the evidence. None of this would have happened without it," Shepard responded, and then quietly chuckled as he said, "I don't want to think about how long it would've taken to find evidence against the Council's top Spectre without you, assuming I'd ever even find any," Shepard turned his head and looked at Tali, who was standing next to him, "As far as I'm concerned, you're a miracle, and I'm glad to have you on my crew."

Tali didn't know what to say. Ever since arriving on the Citadel, very few people had treated her with any kind of respect or decency. Citadel Security questioned her for hours, people looked down at her as they spoke, shop owners kept vigilant eyes on her at all times—nearly everyone she met, had treated her like a thief and a beggar; like a _quarian_. But this man, who was a high-ranking Commander of the Alliance, a decorated war hero, and humanity's first Council Spectre… it was as if he didn't even know she was a quarian. He made her feel like an equal since the moment they met.

"That's so… no one has ever said—thank you, Commander Shepard, that means a lot to me," Tali muttered, surprised over his kind words.

"Don't get too flattered. I've noticed the Commander seems to be big on positive reinforcement," Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams said in a slightly curt manner. She was standing on Shepard's other side.

While Shepard knew she wasn't xenophobic, he was aware that Ashley didn't fully trust alien races, and wasn't particularly thrilled to have them—a turian, a krogan, and now a quarian—serving in one of humanity's most advanced ships. But he didn't fret; though they had met only a few days ago, he was a good enough judge of character to know it wouldn't be an issue.

"Of course I am. It encourages trust and loyalty among soldiers under my command. It makes them _want_ to follow orders," Shepard commented. "But don't worry, I'll still shout worse than a drill sergeant if I witness incompetence during a battle," he added with a smirk.

_I hope he never has to yell at me. I hope I'm good enough_, Tali thought to herself as she silently gulped.

The elevator suddenly stopped and the door opened, revealing a private docking bay. In front of the docking bridge stood Captain Anderson and the human ambassador, Udina. Tali was glad to see them. She felt very comfortable among them and Shepard, due to the events of the day.

Earlier that day she was supposed to meet with the Shadow Broker in order to exchange her evidence for a safe place to hide from Saren, whom the evidence implicated. She immediately realized she had been set up. The people who she met were actually assassins sent by Saren. Realizing this, she threw a grenade at them to give her cover as she jumped behind some crates for protection. Immediately after the gunfight began, Shepard and his squad emerged, and _very_ quickly took out the hit men she was fighting. After greetings were exchanged, Tali was thrilled when she heard they were going to go to the human embassy, to present the evidence to proper authorities.

Tali had always found humans to be somewhat interesting. A very new species to the galactic community, she often grew up hearing news that dealt with humans. When she was a child at the age of four, humans became a major topic of debate among quarians. In the year 2165, the biggest news in the galaxy was that an Alliance team lead by Dr. Shu Qian had been found performing illegal research on artificial intelligence, which caused humanity to be reprimanded by the Council. This was particularly big news among the quarians, given their history of creating the geth and interest in AI.

Dangerous research with AI was one of the several things quarians and humans seemed to have in common. Though there were some definite differences, both species had many biological similarities. They shared a very similar facial structure; they both had two eyes with eyelids and tear ducts, protruding noses, and mouths with lips and teeth. Both species also had comparable life spans, were dual-gendered, weren't natural biotics, and—despite humans being slightly larger in both height and build—comparable in body size and shape.

Tali felt secure and comfortable around these humans in particular. They were authority figures, which she instinctively respected due to the fact that she grew up as the daughter of one of her peoples' admirals. In addition, they had pulled her from danger and hiding, and let her join something important; an adventure that potentially involved saving the galaxy, and maybe even one day getting her peoples' home world back, since the geth were involved.

Shepard, Tali, and Ashley approached Anderson and Udina. Shepard started speaking to them, but Tali's attention immediately drifted to the human frigate before them. She slowly walked over to the rail to get a better look at it. She was completely in awe at the vessel before her. The words being exchanged among the humans were just garbled noise in the background as she stared at the ship, all her attention focusing on it.

It was absolutely amazing. The design of the ship was sleek and elegant. It was a beautiful vessel, but beyond that Tali could tell it was an advanced warship. The dual thrusters on each side were massive for a frigate of its size, a feature that instantly told her that this was the fastest, most maneuverable frigate she had ever seen. The plates of the hull, and the style in which they had been laid out, as well as the GARDIAN point defense laser turrets, were also a testament to the frigate's combat capabilities. Tali had no idea Alliance ships were such engineering marvels.

Tali observed the writing on the side of the ship. She couldn't understand the strange human symbols, but fortunately the helmet she wore provided much more functionality than simply keeping out foreign bacteria. The helmet provided audio enhancements, which improved her hearing, and the vis-glass of her mask gave her better vision by enhancing the image of whatever she was looking at. By being an actual display device, the inside of the mask could provide her with relevant information by way of a heads up display. Upon looking at the writing on the side of the ship, the mask automatically detected the human letters, and displayed a phonetic translation under them in her native quarian language.

"Normandy," Tali whispered to herself as she looked on at the ship.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Shepard's voice suddenly startled Tali. She turned and saw him standing behind her, to the side. She also noticed that the other humans were gone now.

"Yes, it is," Tali said with a light stutter, caught off guard by his comment. "This is your ship, right?"

"It is now. Anderson was her captain, but they've given her to me," Shepard answered, and then sighed, "I'm grateful, but it doesn't feel right. It's like I took the ship from him."

"Ships are my peoples' most valuable resource. I know no quarian captain would be happy if his ship got taken away, but you shouldn't feel bad, Commander. You didn't take it from him. And we need a vessel to track down Saren," Tali said in an attempt to comfort him.

Shepard smiled weakly at her words, he knew she was right. "Thank you, Tali."

Tail felt a subtle chill as she heard him say her name for the first time. It was also one of the few times since she left the flotilla, where she hadn't been referred to as just 'quarian.' If it weren't for the mask, Shepard would've been able to see her smiling.

After a short period of silence Shepard said, "Well, it's time for us to go. Ashley's already gone inside. Come see the interior." Tali nodded in response, and walked behind him as they proceeded into the Normandy's airlock.

"_Decontamination in progress,"_ was heard from the ship's VI as beam of energy moved through the airlock. Tali made sure to make note of this; a room that could double as a clean room might come in handy at some point.

The door that led into the ship opened, and they stepped through it. Tali made sure to stay behind Shepard, as she didn't know anything about the ship's interior. She was going to just follow him.

"Hey Commander, I heard about what happened with the Capt—whoa, is that a quarian?" was heard from the bridge of the ship. It was the Normandy's helmsman, Joker.

"Yes, her name's Tali," Shepard responded, stepping closer to Joker, whose chair was turned around and facing down length of the ship, "Thanks to her, we were able to prove that Saren was behind the attack on Eden Prime."

"So she's the one responsible for putting us on the hit list of the Council's former top Spectre? That's awesome, Commander." Joker joked in his typical snarky fashion, "Wait, I shouldn't have said that. She's making faces at me under that mask now, I know it."

"What?" Tali responded in surprise, "No! I would never do such a—"

"Relax, Tali. Joker's not being serious. You'll soon learn just how appropriate that nick name is," Shepard interrupted, amused at Tali's reaction. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the ship. Joker, get ready, we're leaving shortly," he said as he turned around. Tali walked behind him.

Walking down the Normandy's Combat Information Center made Tali feel nervous and out of place. There were multiple humans in combat stations to both her sides as she walked, and though she remained facing straight ahead, she could tell from her vision's periphery that many were staring at her. Like Joker, most of them had never even seen a quarian in person. She had been eager to examine the interior of the ship, but the feeling of alienation kept her from concentrating on it now.

As they reached the commanding officer's station in the rear of the CIC, Tali's eyes met for a moment with someone who was staring at her with a particularly unsettling look of distrust and confusion. She had no idea who he was, but it was obvious from his uniform and his aged appearance, that he was one of the officers of the ship. The way he looked at her made her feel especially nervous; but also, especially comforted by the fact that Shepard was the one in charge, and that he had treated her so well thus far.

Shepard led her to one of the doors that was at the end of the CIC, and guided her down some stairs. After they reached the bottom and stepped forward into the new area, Shepard said, "This is the crew quarters of the ship. The mess hall is right here. The sleeper pods are down there, and there's the med-bay." Shepard explained, pointing at each one as he mentioned them. "My quarters are over there," he said, pointing across from the med-bay, "Feel free to come see me if you have any questions or concerns." He gave her a reassuring smile. He imagined she likely felt out of place.

"Thank you, Commander Shepard," Tali replied, "If it's not too much trouble, could you show me engineering? That's where I'd like to work," she requested, but then immediately realized it wasn't her place to decide where she got assigned. "Um, if that's okay with you, I mean. Wherever you want to put me is fine."

"Engineering is fine. It's this way," Shepard responded pleasantly, which instantly made Tali feel relieved, "I take it you're into ship tech?" he asked as the elevator began its descent.

"Yes, very much so. Most quarians are. We have to be; ships are our homes, we need to be familiar with how they work. Our survival depends on it."

"I see. It sounds like you know your stuff, then. I'm sure Adams will be glad to have the extra help."

"Adams?"

"He's the Normandy's chief engineer. He's a pretty friendly guy, I'm sure you'll get along well with him."

They stepped out of the elevator, and Tali took a quick moment to look at the cargo hold of the ship. The first thing she noticed was a six-wheeled armored vehicle near the end. She also noticed the turian that was with Shepard when he saved her, though she didn't remember his name, and a krogan who she didn't know yet. She followed Shepard down the small hallway that lead to the Normandy's engineering area. Tali's jaw dropped when the door open, and she saw the absolutely colossal drive core of the Normandy.

_Keelah! How is it possible that such a large drive core can fit in a ship this small? _Tali thought to herself as she quickly walked over to the railing at the end of the room to get a closer look at it. Shepard just chuckled quietly to himself, seeing her so excited.

"Commander Shepard, this is amazing! I've never seen a drive core like this! How can it possibly fit in a ship this small?" Tali eagerly exclaimed, "I had no idea Alliance ships were so advanced."

"Most Alliance ships aren't. The Normandy is cutting-edge, and has a lot of prototype equipment and technology." Shepard explained as he stepped forward and stood next to Tali. He placed his hands up on the rail, joining her in admiring the technological marvel before them, basking in the beautiful bright blue light it emitted.

"The Tantalus Drive Core is the most notable feature of the Normandy. Proportionally, it's twice the size of any other ship's," a voice said from the side. They both turned their heads and saw Chief Engineer Adams approaching. "Who's our guest, Commander?" he asked with a friendly smile.

"This is Tali. She's going to be joining us on our mission. She requested to help out here in engineering,"

"Pleased to meet you," greeted Adams.

"Thank you. It's good to meet you too," responded Tali.

"Show her around the Normandy's systems, Adams. See what she can help you with. I'm going to head back up to the CIC. We're leaving shortly," Shepard said, and then turned around to head towards the exit.

"Hey, Commander?" Tali said. Shepard stopped and turned to look at her.

"Yes?"

Tali hesitated for a moment. She mumbled a bit as she composed her thoughts, "Thank you. Thank you for… everything. For saving me earlier. For letting me join your crew—serving on a ship like this is a dream come true for me. And thank you for… um, just being so nice to me."

Shepard smiled, and placed his hand on her shoulder, "You don't need to thank me for any of that. It's the least I can do. This mission wouldn't be happening without you." He gave her shoulder a gentle pat and then continued on his way to the exit.

Tali just stared at him as he walked away, smiling under her mask.


	2. How Are You Doing?

_**How Are You Doing?  
**_

_To: Admiral Rael'Zorah_

_From: Tali'Zorah nar Rayya_

_Father, you'll never imagine what has happened during my pilgrimage! I'll spare you the details for now, but I'm currently aboard the most advanced ship in the entire human fleet. It is absolutely amazing!_

_It's the ship of this famous human, 'Commander Shepard.' He's a Council Spectre. Can you believe that? The very first of his species. And I was allowed to be part of his crew! Keelah, I never imagined my pilgrimage would be this exciting. _

_I'm sorry to cut this short father, but I need to get back to work. I really want to make a good impression._

_Love, Tali  
_

Shortly after Shepard left Tali in the Normandy's engineering deck, Tali sent the message to her father, eager to tell someone about the amazing turn of events that had happened during her pilgrimage.

Tali had been working closely with Adams ever since then, asking him nonstop questions over the Normandy's technology as he showed her the ship's systems and explained its inner workings. Tali was fascinated by the vessel she was now serving on, and extremely eager to understand it as well as possible.

Despite her enthusiasm to learn about the Normandy, she couldn't help often bringing up Shepard and asking questions about him. She was very curious about the human who had not only saved her life, but made it possible for her to be there, working on what was probably the most advanced frigate in the galaxy. She wanted to learn about him.

Adams didn't have that much to say about Shepard; he didn't know him on a personal basis. All he really knew were some well-known facts about him. Such as that he was a war hero for his actions during the Skyllian Blitz, and that he had a difficult childhood on Earth—though Adams didn't know to what extent. Tali didn't mind his lack of information about Shepard, it just meant maybe she'd get to learn on her own, hopefully directly from him.

Several hours had passed with Tali working in engineering. Adams' shift ended a while ago, so he had left the engineering area to get some rest. Tali stayed behind, doing some basic maintenance with one of the drive core's terminals. After finishing, she decided to take a break. She was wary about wandering around the ship, so she just walked to a corner of the engineering area, and sat down on the floor with her legs folded in, knees pointing up. Tali began to fiddle with her omni-tool to kill some time, and noticed her father had sent a reply.

_From: Admiral Rael'Zorah_

_How do you expect to find something of value to our people on some human's ship? Remember, Tali, the pilgrimage isn't about having fun or excitement, it's about helping the fleet and helping your people._

_Don't forget that I'm an admiral, and there's a lot expected of you. Take your pilgrimage seriously._

_Rael_

All of the excitement and happiness Tali had been experiencing since joining the crew instantly evaporated as she read her father's response. She suddenly felt saddened, discouraged, and stupid.

Tali wasn't upset with her father in the slightest. She knew how he was, and she knew his response was just like him. She wasn't angry; she simply felt stupid for getting her hopes up and expecting him to approve of her putting her pilgrimage aside to serve on a human vessel. How could she not feel stupid, sending such a message and not expecting disapproval from him?

_Maybe he's right_, she thought to herself, _What am I doing here? I just started on my pilgrimage a few weeks ago. Can I really be of any help to someone like Shepard? _Tali wondered, and began to consider if maybe this was a mistake; if maybe she should just get off, and go back to her normal life next time the Normandy stopped. Did Shepard really even want her help, or was he just being polite when he accepted her offer to join him?

Amidst her depressed mood and pessimistic thoughts, she suddenly saw a figure walk into engineering with a familiar brisk step. It was Shepard. He turned his head side to side, quickly scanning the terminals and stations of the engineering deck.

"Guess she's not here," he mumbled quietly before turning around. As he turned, he suddenly noticed Tali sitting against the wall, near a back corner of the engineering deck. "There you are, Tali" he said as he approached.

"Oh, hi, Commander. Is everything okay? What can I do for you?" Tali asked as she quickly stood up. She spoke with a falsely positive tone, in an attempt to disguise her current sad mood.

"Got a minute to talk?"

"Yes… of course," she responded. _I hope everything is okay. I hope I didn't do something wrong, and Adams complained to him._

Shepard sat down on the floor, next to where Tali had been sitting. He gestured with his hand for her to sit as well. Tali reluctantly followed, not sure what to make of the informal meeting.

"Remind me to put a requisition order for some chairs, looks like you guys could use some down here," he commented with a slight smirk, half joking and half serious.

"You don't need to do that," Tali responded, still hiding her somber mood, "I just sat here since I was nervous about wandering around the ship. I'm not sure if there are restrictions on where I'm allowed to go."

"You can go anywhere you want, Tali. Feel free to get familiar with the ship. It doesn't even have that many decks."

"Thank you," Tali responded. She waited for a brief moment, then turned her head to look at him and asked, "What was it you wanted to see me about?"

"A few things," he answered, his eyes looking right at the faintly glowing dots of light under her mask, "First of all, I wanted to apologize that we're not very well equipped for a quarian crew member. I know it's not anyone's fault, this is a human vessel after all, but I wish we could give you better accommodations."

"Oh, it's perfectly alright. Not that I don't appreciate your concern, of course. But I'll make do." Tali's voice now had some genuine happiness as she responded; it was clear by his comment that he wasn't here to bring up any complaints or warnings.

"I don't know exactly what you require, but feel free to use the med-bay if you need a clean environment. It's not a true clean room, but it has some sterilization equipment, antiseptics, things like that."

"Thank you… Commander," Tali responded with a small nod, turning her head to look back at the floor in front of her. She found herself feeling touched over his concern about the lack of accommodations for her.

"Also, we don't have any food that's specifically for quarians, but we do have some turian rations. It's my understanding quarians can eat turian food?" Shepard asked, and Tali simply nodded. Figuring she might be curious why an Alliance ship would have turian food, he added, "We had a turian Spectre on the vessel not long ago, so we had stocked-up on some supplies. Don't worry, I'm sure Garrus won't mind sharing."

_Oh that's the turian's name_, Tali realized as she responded with a quiet half-laugh, half-snort and said, "Thanks, but I should be fine. We're given months worth of concentrated nutrient paste before our pilgrimage. Garrus can have most of those rations for himself."

_Nutrient paste? I guess that's how she eats with that suit on. Makes sense_, Shepard thought to himself. There was a brief period of silence until Shepard remembered what else he wanted to discuss.

"Another thing I wanted to talk to you about. Your omni-tool."

"My omni-tool? What about it?" Tali asked as she turned her head back towards him, curious as to why he brought it up.

"It sucks," Shepard answered bluntly, "I noticed you have one of those old Bluewire models, when I saw you access it earlier."

"Oh… yeah. I know it's old and not very good, but… it's all I have," she responded with some embarrassment. "Um… it's not _that_ bad, though. I've done some modifications to it, to get more out of the hardware."

"You'll have to do your modifications again, then. Here, take this," Shepard said as he reached into his pocket, and pulled out the small device that constitutes an omni-tool, holding it up for her to take. "We got a few of these among our supplies. Alliance standard issue. Not the most advanced omni-tools out there, but they're decent. This should be a nice improvement over your current one."

Tali looked at the omni-tool he held in his hand, and then looked at his eyes. She wasn't sure what to make of the gesture. Looking back down at it, she hesitantly reached out and took it. Her fingers lightly touched with Shepard's as it transferred between their hands. Tali found herself wanting to keep her fingers pressed against his, but she wouldn't dare do something that unprofessional. She just took the omni-tool and retreated her hand.

"That's so… this is very kind of you. Thank you… Commander. I'll take good care of it. Thank you." she said quietly.

She held the omni-tool in her hand, casually moving it around, looking at it from multiple angles. However, she wasn't really paying attention to it. Her thoughts were elsewhere. She found herself once again touched by Shepard's actions, even though she knew there really wasn't any reason to be; he was just making sure his crew was properly equipped. That was the obvious explanation for his apparent kindness.

As she looked over the omni-tool, Tali realized she was feeling much better. Her doubts about being on the ship had been alleviated, and the sadness spawned from her father's message was gone. Shepard coming in, and just chatting with her caused her depressed mood to vanish as suddenly as it had appeared. Thanks to him, it got replaced with a distant happiness.

"You know, Adams spoke to me not long ago. About you," Shepard said, completely interrupting Tali's thoughts and changing the subject. She stopped moving the omni-tool and looked at Shepard.

"What did he say?"

"Pretty much what I've suspected about you since we met—since I learned that you managed to extract that geth data." Shepard answered, and then looked at her and smiled. "He said that you've got an amazing knack for technology. In fact, he wishes the rest of his team was even half as smart as you. He suspects that within a month, you'll know the Normandy's engines better than even he does."

Tali laughed quietly at the flattery she just received. She put her hands together and casually wringed them as she said, "That was very nice of him to say."

"Adams is a very experienced engineer, he's literally served on every class of ship the Alliance has. He was even handpicked to serve on this ship. It really says a great deal about your engineering skills for him to be so impressed."

"It comes with my race. Most quarians are very good with technology, especially ship technology. Ships are our homes."

Shepard instantly recognized that she was just being modest. It was obvious that even among her people, she was very gifted, "I have a hard time believing that all quarians are as good with it as you, Tali."

"Well… it's true that I'm a little more familiar with engineering and technology than other quarians. It interested me a lot as a child. My father taught me several things, and always wanted me to learn as much as I could," Tali explained, then hesitated a brief moment before adding, "Although, he wasn't too happy that time I dismantled his omni-tool to see how it worked. And then… I, uh, couldn't figure out how to put it back together again…" she said with light embarrassment, but clearly amused at the childhood memory.

Shepard just chuckled quietly at her story.

"What about you, Commander? Any funny stories involving your dad?" Tali asked, wanting to change the subject away from herself, and learn more about Shepard.

After thinking for a brief moment, Shepard inhaled and quietly sighed, "Another time."

Tali noticed that the question about his father bothered him. _Maybe he grew up with a strict father, like mine? No, that's not likely. I can't imagine someone with a father like mine being this informal while in a position of command. But Adams did mention he had a tough childhood._

"Well, Tali, It's been nice talking with you," Shepard said as he got up, "I need to go and take care of some things."

After getting up, Shepard offered his hand to Tali to help her up. She intended to stay in engineering for a while, but she took his hand anyway. With a firm grip on her hand, Shepard pulled her up with little difficulty. Despite her long legs and the extra weight of her enviro-suit, she was relatively light thanks to her petite torso and arms.

Once she was up, Shepard smiled and chuckled quietly, "I never realized it before, but quarians have pretty small hands. I guess three fingers will do that."

Tali laughed and said in an amused tone, "I'll have you know our hands are a perfectly normal size," playing along with his tease. "I don't know how you humans keep track of all those fingers, though."

"One thing's for sure, it's going to be awkward asking you for a high five."

"A high… five?"

"It's an informal, celebratory hand gesture used by humans. One person holds up their hand, and the other slaps it. We have five fingers, thus it's a high _five_. I guess in your case, it would be a high… three."

Tali giggled at explanation, and then reluctantly held up her hand, "Like this?"

"That's the spirit," Shepard exclaimed as he slapped his hand against hers. He made sure not to do it too hard. They both laughed quietly.

A brief moment later Shepard said, "Well, I should go."

"I'll see you later," Tali responded, finding herself saddened that he was leaving. _A man like him definitely wasn't raised by a very strict father_, she thought to herself, smiling as she watched him leave.

After Shepard was gone, Tali sat back down, and got ready to backup the files on her omni-tool, in order to transfer them to the new one Shepard had given her.

She did not save her father's message.


	3. They're On Our Side

_**They're On Our Side  
**_

It had been over a week since Tali joined the Normandy. Even though she knew it was alright for her to go anywhere on the ship, she still preferred to spend most of her time in engineering. She simply enjoyed working on the Normandy's engines and learning everything she could about them, even when she wasn't on duty. She also greatly enjoyed that Shepard would come down to check up on her every day, and they'd spend time talking together. It seemed odd that Shepard spent so much time with her, but she didn't care—she just enjoyed having a friend to chat with.

Tali told him a lot about the quarian people. She talked about their culture and history, and explained other things such as what the flotilla was like, why they go off on pilgrimages, and the strong bonds of family that form as a result of their lifestyles. Having grown up without a family of his own, Shepard particularly enjoyed hearing about the bonds between quarians. They depended on each other for survival; they were all family, no matter what clan or ship they came from.

Despite the difficulties of their lives, Shepard couldn't help but imagine that the typical quarian was likely happier, or at least more at peace, than members of other races. They had little, but what they did have, they truly valued and appreciated. Quarians just seemed like a special race in that regard.

He noticed there was a slight parallel between them and the krogan, who were another race that had suffered a major catastrophe which threatened their very survival. While the krogan had let the devastation of the genophage scatter and weaken them, the quarians had responded in the opposite way to their plight. They had become unified and bound together by their exile, refusing to just give up and die.

Something else Tali discussed were quarian immune systems. She explained how the sterile environment of the flotilla had severely weakened them. Back on their home world, quarian immune systems had developed to generally adapt to microbes rather than combat them, but living aboard sterile ships had ruined their immune system's adaptability. In their current form, their immune system would likely have dangerous allergic reactions to foreign bacteria. It took them long periods of time to adjust to the presence of foreign microbial matter.

Tali's family was another topic that got brought in their conversations. She eventually mentioned to Shepard that her father was an admiral—one of the highest positions of authority among the quarians. It was one of the reasons she had received particularly extensive military training before her pilgrimage, and it was also why she felt pressured to bring back a very special pilgrimage gift; expectations for her were high. Anything below excellence would be a major disappointment to her father, Rael. Shepard asked about her mother as well, but was sad to hear that she had died when Tali was only seventeen, due to a virus outbreak on the flotilla.

During their talks, specifically when Tali discussed her parents, she had hoped Shepard would bring up his own family and discuss his life growing up on Earth. She was curious about his upbringing. Unfortunately for her, he never brought up anything dealing with his childhood or even his life before joining the Alliance. Anything he said about himself, dealt with events during his military career. It was obvious to her he didn't want to discuss the details of his difficult life on Earth, so she avoided pressing him for information despite her curiosity.

So far, Tali had been having an enjoyable time on the Normandy, despite the initial doubt and feeling of alienation she had her first day. She had gotten familiar with many of the crewmembers, who were all typically polite and treated her well. And of course, she particularly enjoyed the time she spent with her new friend, Shepard. For the most part, Tali was happy on the Normandy.

Her only concerns were that she'd occasionally feel homesick, and the fact that she had a lot of difficulty going to sleep. The Normandy was extremely quiet, and sleeping in her assigned sleeper pod further drowned out the little noise the ship made. To a quarian, a quiet ship was terrifying—it typically meant that an air filter, or some other important life-support machine, had broken down. Twenty-two years of living aboard an ancient, rundown vessel had conditioned her to fall asleep to the loud, roaring sound of old machines in the distant background.

Tali was currently inside the Normandy's elevator as it ascended to the upper part of the ship. After it reached the crew deck and she stepped out, she could overhear a conversation going on in the mess hall, which was right behind the elevator shaft.

"Now that you mention it, I have noticed he's been spending a lot of time down there," A voice said. Tali recognized it—it was the voice of Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko.

"I hope it's to keep an eye on her. I don't trust her," A second voice said. She recognized it too. It was the voice of Navigator Pressly; Shepard's Executive Officer, the second-in-command aboard the Normandy.

Tali remembered seeing him next to the galaxy map of the CO's station in the CIC, when she first came aboard. She remembered he was the one that gave her a particularly unsettling look of distrust; it was the same expression she had already seen several times during her pilgrimage.

Tali didn't move far from the elevator. She just stepped to her left and stood close to the shaft as she listened to their conversation.

"I really don't see why you're worried about her," Kaidan said, "I've talked with her. She's seems like a decent person. You really shouldn't be so worried."

"You know I _don't_ hate aliens. I just don't trust having them onboard a prototype Alliance frigate like the Normandy—not the turian, not the krogan, not the asari we picked up a day ago, and especially not the _quarian_."

The way he said 'quarian' gave Tali a sick feeling in her stomach. She sighed quietly and shook her head, feeling numb as her mind processed what she was hearing.

"Wait, what's so bad about quarians? Ever since the geth incident, they haven't done anything wrong, as far as I know. They seem to just keep to themselves," Kaidan asked.

"My problem is their reputation for being beggars and thieves. How do we know she isn't sending schematics of the Normandy's technology back to her people? It's classified Alliance information! What if she even steals some tech before leaving?"

Ever since she left the flotilla, Tali had been well prepared to face hate and racism. She had been warned that most of the galaxy looked down on quarians, and that she should expect some racism against her. She was also warned not to act against it. It was better—and safer—if she ignored whatever she encountered. Tali had always followed the advice, never acting against the looks of distrust and the racist comments she had experienced since she started her pilgrimage, despite the temptation to do so. She just accepted it as a fact of life. But this time was different.

Perhaps it was because she felt empowered by the positive mood of everything going so well thus far on the Normandy, or maybe it was something as simple as being cranky from her lack of sleep. But hearing Pressly's words made her feel livid. She wasn't going to tolerate racism this time.

Tali stormed around the elevator shaft, from the side that led to the med-bay, and stood before the table in the mess hall. She saw Kaidan and Pressly sitting there, by themselves.

"Listen you _bosh'tet_, I am NOT a thief!" She yelled out, pointing at Pressly, "I've never once stolen anything! Nothing! And I don't intend on stealing anything from the Normandy!"

Kaidan and Pressly just looked at her, stunned at her sudden outburst. Tali continued her tirade, "I'm sick of people like _you_ treating us like this! Quarians are _not_ thieves! We are _not_ beggars! We are resourceful and we make do with what others throw away, but WE DO NOT STEAL! If you don't believe me, then you can just go to hell!"

There was a short period of awkward silence after her shouting; neither Kaidan or Pressly knew what to say. Tali then just turned around and quickly walked away, heading towards the elevator. She went back to the engineering deck.

Right afterwards, Shepard came out of his private quarters nearby and approached the mess hall, "What the hell just happened? What was all that yelling?"

Kaidan looked at Pressly, and waited for him to respond. As far as Kaidan was concerned, he had nothing to do with what just happened. Pressly hesitated, sighed, and said, "I was conversing with Kaidan, and I simply expressed my concern about having a quarian down in engineering. Apparently she overheard, and… got upset."

"Damn it, Pressly. I told you, you don't need to worry about her. She's trustworthy," Shepard said with a sigh, shaking his head.

"I apologize, Commander. It wasn't my intention to cause an issue. I'm just concerned for the good of the Normandy."

"Noted," Shepard said curtly, "Don't worry about it. I'll talk to her. Just make sure this doesn't happen again. Not with her, or any of the other non-human crew members."

"Understood, Commander," Pressly replied. Shepard then walked back to his private quarters.

. . .

Down in engineering, Tali was standing in front of her work terminal, attempting to distract herself with some mundane maintenance and calibrations. Her anger was quickly fading, but it was being replaced with melancholy. Not just because she had once again observed racism against her people, but because she realized what she had done. She had shouted at an officer aboard the ship she was serving on. She insulted and verbally attacked the second-in-command of the ship. Discipline for her misconduct was inevitable.

"Hey, Tali?" Adams asked, disrupting Tali's attempt to clear her mind with work. She instantly felt a knot in her stomach—she knew Adams was going to bring up something about what had just happened. "The Commander just messaged me. He wants you to go to his quarters. He wants to have a talk."

_Oh Keelah. What have I done. He wants to see me in private? This is bad. Why did I have to lose my temper like that. Keelah… what if he wants me to leave_?

"Thank you, Adams. I, I'll… see you later," She said quietly, and moved away from her terminal. She walked back to the elevator in an uneasy step, and once again took it up to the crew deck.

The pace of her walking quickened as she moved past the mess hall, and she made sure not to look in its direction—she didn't want a confrontation by Pressly. She didn't even know if he was still there; she completely avoided looking at the table.

Tali was then standing before the door to Shepard's quarters. Nervously, she held her hands together for a moment, before lifting one up and lightly knocking.

"Come in," was heard from the other side.

She opened the door, and took a deep breath as she stepped forward, continuing to hold her hands together as she walked into the quarters of her commanding officer. She kept her head tilted down slightly as she stepped inside. The door closed behind her.

Tali realized she had never been in here before, and took a quick second to scan the room. She noticed an alcove in the far end of it, which contained his bed, as well as a small desk. Near the center of the room was a round table with two chairs, and next to the door was another desk, which was where Shepard currently sat. She also noticed that his room was slightly noisier than other parts of the ship. It was clear why—the walled area to the left of the alcove obviously housed some of the Normandy's systems.

"Hi, Shep—I mean… sir. Um, Adams said you wanted to speak to me…" She muttered quietly; nervously.

"Yes I do," Shepard said as he stood up, "And I'm sure you know what it's about," he added as he walked towards the round table near the center of his quarters, and sat down in one of the two chairs around it. He gestured with his hand for Tali to sit in the other one.

"I'm so sorry," Tali preemptively apologized as she sat down on the other chair, which was about a quarter of the table away from Shepard. She rested her arms on her thighs after sitting down, and continued wringing her fingers. "I shouldn't have yelled at Pressly and insulted him like that. He's an officer on this ship—it, it wasn't my place to act like that. I… it won't happen again. I promise."

Shepard thought about her words for a brief moment. He inhaled and said in a strangely upbeat tone, "Hey, I just realized something. I don't know your age. How old are you, Tali?"

_My age? Keelah, he's going to talk to me about maturity_, "I'm twenty-two… sir."

"That seems about right," Shepard responded. Tali didn't know if that was an insult or a compliment. "That's a good age. It's how old I was when I fought in the Skyllian Blitz. I'm twenty-nine, by the way. The Blitz was seven years ago."

Tali suddenly realized that she knew about the event he was talking about. She remembered hearing about it when it happened. Even though she was there to likely be disciplined, she had to bring up that she knew about The Blitz, now that she made the connection.

"Wait… I remember that. I saw it on a news vid! That _was_ you wasn't it?" Tali asked, completely forgetting the reason she was there, "It hadn't occurred to me. But you _are_ the human that stopped that attack!"

Shepard laughed quietly and asked, "You heard about it at the time? On the flotilla?"

"The flotilla is always wary of pirates and slavers, since they attack us sometimes. They're our biggest external threat. When that human colony got attacked by the biggest banding of pirates ever, and the entire attack failed thanks to one human, it was news even on the flotilla. I remember watching the news vid about it with my mother. I was… fifteen at the time."

Tali paused for a moment, and then continued, "I can't believe that was you. It doesn't surprise me at all, of course, but… it's just so amazing you were able to do that."

"Yeah. I guess it was," Shepard said quietly, strangely lacking any real sense of pride. There was a long period of silence, and then he finally said, "Anyway, we can talk about that later. It's not why I called you up," Shepard changed back to the original topic. "I only asked about your age since I just now realized I didn't know it."

Tali gulped silently as the distraction of recalling Shepard's past accomplishment faded, and she was suddenly reminded why she was there. She squeezed her hands together tightly, and nervously waited for Shepard to speak again.

"I know Pressly said some negative things about quarians," Shepard said.

"Yes… he said we were thieves. He said he was worried I would send back information about the Normandy to the flotilla," Tali said quietly. Her head was tilted down as she spoke.

"And none of that is true, right?"

"Of course not!" Tali immediately responded, looking up at him, "We're not thieves. _I'm_ not a thief. I've never stolen anything. And I would never, ever steal anything from the Normandy, or you."

"I know, Tali. I know you're not a thief," Shepard acknowledged. "And based on what you've told me about your people, I genuinely believe thievery is not part of your culture, either. There's just a lot of misconceptions and misunderstanding."

"Yes, that's exactly right! Most people just don't know how we quarians really are."

"And there you go. The heart of the problem is ignorance. Racism is hatred born from ignorance. You cure the ignorance, and the hatred dies—the racism dies. Getting upset and yelling doesn't help at all. It just makes it worse."

"That's… you're right, sir. That's very true."

There was a short moment of silence while Tali pondered his words.

"Anyway, look, Tali. I'm not going to order either you or Pressly to apologize to the other. You two need to fix this on your own. If his assumptions about quarians are wrong, then talk to him and cure his ignorance about your people. I do not want this to happen again."

"I… yes. I, understand." Tali responded in a somewhat somber tone. She didn't like the idea of interacting with Pressly again, though she knew Shepard was right. "I, I guess I can talk to him... I'll try so this doesn't happen again."

"Come on, don't give me that tone," Shepard said with a sudden warm smile and positive voice, "I know how you love to talk about your people. Hell, it's all you talk about when I check up on you in engineering."

His teasing made Tali feel a lot better. "The flotilla has been my whole life until now. It's all I really have to talk about," she admitted in a slightly embarrassed, yet happy tone.

"I know. And It's okay, Tali. I enjoy hearing you talk," Shepard confessed, and quickly clarified, "About your people, I mean."

Tali noticed his slipup, and though she wasn't sure if it meant what she hoped it did, she still smiled under her mask. "Thanks."

After a brief moment of awkward silence, Tali said, "So… I—this is what you wanted to talk to me about, right? We're, uh, done?"

"Yes, I suppose we are. You can leave. If you want to."

"Do you… um, want me to go?" Tali asked, and found herself hoping to hear him say no. She really liked the idea of staying in Shepard's private quarters and spending time with him, talking.

Shepard smiled at her, and answered in a surprisingly quiet, tender voice, "No, not really. Why don't you stay for a while and tell me some more about the flotilla?"

"Oh… Yes. Alright. I'll do that," Tali responded. She tried not to show it, but it was obvious she was glad to hear his request.

She was once again wringing her hands together, but this time it was for a far different, and happier, reason.

. . .

Hours had passed since the incident between Tali and Pressly. After spending a while talking with Shepard in his quarters, Tali had decided to go and talk to Pressly so as to resolve the issue, like Shepard wanted. As she walked up the stairs that led to the CIC to find Pressly, she realized she was doing this more to please Shepard than to actually resolve the issue.

She finally reached the top of the stairs, and stepped into the CIC. She saw Pressly working on his terminal near the galaxy map.

"Pressly? Do you have a moment?" Tali asked as she approached him.

Pressly looked up from his terminal and turned to look at her. After a short hesitation he sighed and said, "Yes. Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I apologize too… for yelling at you and insulting you. But I didn't come here to look for an apology," Tali paused for a second before continuing, "I, I just want you to understand. About me… about quarians."

Tali thought for a moment, and after taking in a deep breath she began her explanation.

"Our lives aren't easy. We're forced to live on a flotilla of ships; many of which are very old. Ever since we were exiled by the geth three hundred years ago, we've been close to extinction, with no one to help us. We spend our entire lives just a hull breach away from death. The fleet is always in need of resources and materials to keep our ships running. It's why our pilgrimages are so important. Do you know about our pilgrimages?"

"No, I don't," Pressly hesitantly admitted.

"It's a rite of passage. We're sent out on our own into the galaxy, to find something of value to bring back to the fleet. I'm on my pilgrimage right now, in fact. And just like all other quarians before me, I'm looking for something to help my people—my family."

Tali paused to gather her thoughts and continued.

"And there's something very important about our pilgrimage gifts that you should be aware of. They can't be anything that caused harm to anyone for us to acquire. We're not allowed to bring back anything that was stolen. I… just wanted you to know that."

Pressly didn't know what to say. He just stood there, in thought over her words. Finally, he sighed and responded, "Thank you for sharing that with me. I didn't really know any of that. You've… given me some things to think about."

"Thank you for listening to me," Tali said. "I just want you to understand. I'm going to head to engineering for a while. I'll… see you later, Pressly."

Pressly gave her a quick nod as she walked away, and pondered over her words as he watched her leave. After a brief moment of considering what she said, Pressly picked up his datapad and began to write in his journal.


	4. It's Too Quiet to Sleep?

_**It's Too Quiet to Sleep?**_

Tali lay inside her sleeper pod, staring up at the ceiling through its clear glass lid. She once again found herself unable to fall asleep. The Normandy was simply too quiet.

For twenty-two years she had lived aboard the Rayya, one of the Migrant Fleet's three colossal Liveships. The Liveships were all located in the heart of the flotilla, and were the most heavily guarded ships due to their importance; they provided nearly all the food for the entire quarian race. These vessels were ancient, nearly as old as the Migrant Fleet itself. Even though they were constantly being repaired and upgraded, they in no way compared to the cutting edge technology of the ship Tali was now serving on.

Aboard the flotilla, the sound of silence—what Tali listened to every time she tried to go to sleep on the Normandy—often meant some vital machinery had broken down. It was effectively a security alarm, alerting the inhabitants that an engine had died or an air filter had broken down.

Tali was well aware that on the Normandy, it was the opposite. The quiet meant that the ship was operating normally. Still, it was difficult to shake off the twenty-two years of conditioning her mind had. The fact that her sleeper pod blocked out even the little bit of noise that the Normandy did make—a constant low, quiet hum—didn't help either.

Realizing she wasn't going to be able to doze off any time soon, Tali decided to just get up and kill some time doing something else. She pressed the button on the side of the interior of the sleeper pod, and the pod lowered itself into a near vertical position, but still angled enough to keep her back against the cushion that lined its bottom half. The clear door opened, and she stepped out.

Tali took a moment to stretch, now that she had the room to do so. Clutching her three-fingered hands into fists, she extended her arms outward and arched her back while standing on the ends of her toes. There were a few quiet pops from her vertebrae, and she quietly moaned just before a yawn emerged. Her muscles then relaxed as her stretch ended.

She then walked down the crew deck, and approached the mess hall. There was a wall that partitioned off the mess area from the rest of the crew deck, but as approached it, she knew someone was there because she could hear a slow, soft song being very quietly hummed. As she walked around the partition, she saw who was there; it was Shepard sitting by himself at the table, as he picked away at some food in one of the plastic trays the Alliance pre-prepared rations came served on. He was either not very hungry or completely unimpressed with his food, since he was eating it with almost no interest.

"Hey Shepard," Tali said as she approached the table. She was happy to see him.

Shepard looked up from his food and smiled as he saw her approaching. "Hello, Tali."

"What was that you were humming?" Tali asked as she sat down, directly across from him. She knew the question was pointless. Whatever he had been humming was likely a human song, which she would not be familiar with. Still, she wanted to bring it up. The thought of Shepard, a man famous for his battle prowess and skill as a soldier, humming a soft tune like that was very cute.

"I don't know," Shepard answered with a subtle shrug. "Every now and then I find myself humming it. I've been doing so far back as I can remember. I have no idea what song it is, or where it came from."

"Something you heard as a child, perhaps?" Tali suggested. "Maybe it was something your mother sang to you."

Shepard looked at her for a short while as he considered her suggestion. "Maybe."

Right after his response, he changed the subject and asked, "Anyway, what are you doing up? Isn't it your time to sleep, according to the hot bunking schedule?" He pushed his food tray aside after the question.

"Yes it is," Tali answered. "But… I couldn't sleep. I've been having a really hard time going to sleep on the Normandy. It's too quiet."

"It's too quiet to sleep?" Shepard asked with a confused, somewhat amused look on his face.

"For me it is. On the flotilla, the last thing you want to hear is silence. It means an engine has shut down, or worse, an air filter has broken," Tali explained. "But I guess on the Normandy, it's the opposite, isn't it Shepard? Hearing noise would mean something isn't operating well. Still, it's hard to get used to it. What little noise the Normandy does make, the sleeper pod drowns out, too."

"I see. When you put it like that, it makes sense that the quiet would be unsettling to you," Shepard said, and then added, "You should really try and get some sleep, though. I want you at a hundred percent for tomorrow."

"I've tried, Shepard. I just can't doze off. I've even asked Doctor Chakwas if she could give me something to help me sleep, but she doesn't have anything for quarians." Tali explained, and then asked, "What's so special about tomorrow, though?"

"I had forgotten to tell you, but tomorrow we're going to be passing through a system that has a planet rich in mineral resources. I wanted to go down there and survey some of the deposits. Since you haven't ridden in the Mako yet, I wanted to take you with me so you can get some training with it."

"The Mako? You're talking about that armored vehicle in the cargo bay right?"

"Yes, that's it. I pretty much always handle the driving, but it's good to have an engineer onboard to manage its systems and run diagnostics during combat. I have a feeling we're going to be using the Mako a lot more as we hunt down Saren, and I want you to learn its systems. A non-combat situation like surveying minerals is ideal for your first time."

"That sounds like fun. Who else is coming?"

"It's not a combat mission, so I don't need a full squad. I asked a few people if they wanted to come, but they declined. So it looks like it'll just be the two of us."

"That… doesn't sound so bad," Tali quietly admitted. Shepard just smiled.

After a brief moment of silence, Shepard said, "You should get some sleep. Even though it's not a combat mission, it's a good idea for you to be well rested."

"I wish I could. I'm even sleepy, too, but I just… I can't doze off. I was in there for over an hour trying to fall asleep," Tali said with a sigh.

Shepard thought for a moment, and came up with an idea, "My quarters are a little noisier than the rest of the crew deck. There's some machinery under it, or next to it—I can't tell. But there's definitely something there. It's not _that_ loud, but it's noticeable. Why don't you try sleeping in my bed tonight? Maybe the extra noise will help."`

_Oh Keelah… I cannot believe he just suggested that. Is he being serious? "_Sleep in… _your_ quarters? In your bed? I—wow, I… uh, thank you, that's very generous, but I don't know if that's—are you being serious?"

Shepard chuckled at her sudden nervousness. "Relax, Tali. It's not like I'm suggesting you share the bed with me. I only brought it up because I normally go to sleep later than your assigned sleeper pod time, so you'll have it to yourself. The bed's not being used in the meantime, and I don't mind staying up a couple hours later than usual. I have some paperwork I should catch up on, anyway."

"Um, thank you, Shepard. I really appreciate the offer. But I don't want to impose. I'll just… I'll make do with my sleeper pod. I'll be okay."

"You've been in my quarters. Answer truthfully, Tali, do you think you'd sleep better with the background noise in there?"

"Well, um… yes. Probably," She hesitant admitted.

"Go on then. Go get some rest. I really don't mind."

"I don't know…"

"It's your call. But please know that you won't be imposing. And I do want you at a hundred percent for your training with the Mako."

Tali's arms were resting on top of the table. She placed her hands together and started to lightly wring them as she thought about Shepard's suggestion. After a period of silence while she considered it, she finally asked, "You… you're sure you don't mind? I uh, won't be in the way?"

"I'm sure, Tali. Like I said, I wasn't intending on going to sleep any time soon, so that bed is just going to waste in the meantime." Shepard gave her a reassuring smile as he spoke to encourage her to accept the offer.

"Well, I… guess… if you're positive I won't be an inconvenience…" Tali's sentence ended with her slightly mumbling. Her acceptance was very reluctant.

Shepard inhaled and let out a relaxed sigh as he continued to smile at Tali, now more warmly, and said, "It's funny. Between your weak immune system and dextro chirality, one would think you'd be the neediest person on the ship. Yet, it's the exact opposite—you never ask for anything, and I usually have to argue with you to get you to accept things. You always put your needs behind everyone else's. You're the most unselfish person on this ship."

Tali smiled at his comment. She took pride in being as he described. It was how she was raised; it was how all quarians were expected to be. "Thank you. But it's just how quarians are. We're taught to always think of other people. Always. If we don't think about the needs of the whole crew, people could get hurt… maybe even killed."

After a short period of quiet, Shepard said in a playful tone, "Go get some sleep, Miss Zorah. You deserve it." Right afterwards, he stood up from the table and added, "I'm going to head up to the CIC for a while. Sleep well, Tali."

"Okay. I'll see you later, Shepard. And thank you."

. . .

Over an hour had passed since Shepard and Tali talked in the mess hall. Shepard was now back on the crew deck, and was approaching the door to his quarters. He had a strong feeling that he wasn't going to see Tali inside, but was pleasantly surprised as he entered the room and saw her lying on his bed, sound asleep.

He only glanced over her for a second as he approached the desk near his bed, and sat down to do his work. He picked up the datapad that was on his desk, and began to read the various status reports and lists that the commanding officer of a military frigate is often required to stay up to date on.

Almost as soon as he had started reading it, he placed it back down and turned his head to look at Tali. Shepard then swiveled his chair around, and just watched her as she lay there. She was obviously asleep, he could tell since the faintly glowing dots of her eyes were nowhere to be seen behind her mask. Shepard smiled as he looked on at her, peacefully sleeping.

Tali lay near the edge of the bed, facing the right side of the room, in the direction of the wall where Shepard's desk was. She slept comfortably on her left side, and had both her arms folded in front of her, very close to her chest. Her right leg was on top of her left, both of which were slightly bent, the top one more so. Aside from the barely noticeable expansion and contraction of her chest as she breathed, she laid completely still and made no noise.

Shepard noticed that she was sleeping very close to the edge of the bed. The bed was made up of two separate sleeping pads right next to each other, and she wasn't even using half of the one she slept on. At first he thought that it was unusual that she let so much of the bed go to waste, but he then realized why she slept like that. She was just being efficient. On the flotilla, space was always very limited, so it made sense that she slept in a way to take up as little space as possible. It was simply how she was accustomed to sleeping.

After a while, Shepard realized that he was smiling as he looked at her. She simply looked adorable as she peacefully slept. And beautiful. The fabric that adorned her suit was faded and tattered, and the suit itself had various makeshift repairs throughout it. Her entire right arm was incased in some metal sections with tubes sticking out—obviously a field repair she had to do to at some point before joining his crew. But despite all that, he still found her very pleasing to look at.

The suit was beautiful, even in its worn down condition. It was also very snug, and hugged her body tightly. Of all the known dual-gendered species in the galaxy, quarians had the most similar sexual dimorphism to humans. Both species could be classified as mammals, and her long legs, thin waist, and petite upper body gave her a very feminine look which he had found attractive since he first met her.

As Shepard watched over her, with a relaxed and loving look in his eyes, a familiar thought came to his mind. It had existed for a while now, and ever since it first began to appear he tried to ignore and suppress it. But he couldn't get rid of it completely.

He knew he was developing feelings for her; feelings for the quarian girl who had joined his crew, became his friend, and now peacefully slept on his bed.

What was it about her? Shepard couldn't figure it out exactly. It wasn't just physical attraction—he had encountered numerous physically beautiful women while on his journeys throughout the galaxy. Was it her personality? That seemed like the most likely explanation since her presence brought him joy and peace. But at the same time, Shepard had also interacted with many women with pleasant personalities. Maybe, it was a combination of a multitude of things; she had many positive qualities, after all. Regardless, the exact reason, or reasons, was irrelevant. What mattered was that the feelings were there, and growing.

It was evident now more than ever as he looked at her. Despite how he had stressed that sleeping in his cabin was simply for her good as a crew member, Shepard knew that if it had been anyone else with her problem, he probably wouldn't have offered his bed.

As he thought all these things, a second realization came to his mind. One that was always there when he thought about the feelings he was developing for her, and the main reason he tried to suppress them. Shepard sighed a sigh of frustration, and shook his head slightly. He turned back around to his desk.

_Stop being an idiot, Shepard_, he thought to himself. _Forget about her. It could never work. Is it even possible for a quarian and a human to have anything beyond a platonic relationship together? It doesn't even matter. She's dedicated to her people, and when this mission is over and she finds a pilgrimage gift, she's going to go back to them._

_And then you'll never see her again._


	5. Glad You're Feeling Better

_**Glad You're Feeling Better**_

_A pair of hands landed on Tali's body as she lay sleeping on Shepard's bed. As soon as they made contact with her, they began to sensually caress her breasts, abdomen and thighs, which woke her up. She immediately knew whose hands they were, and after a short while of lying there, unmoving and just enjoying his touching, she eagerly turned around to greet him._

_She saw Shepard's face as she flipped over. Without saying a word, he reached up and unlocked her mask, removing it and exposing her face. She didn't care at all about the dangers of having the mask removed. As soon as it came off, she just wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled him on top of her, eagerly kissing his lips._

_Her hands excitedly grasped at his upper back as she passionately kissed him. She loved the feel of his body weight on her while she lustfully sucked on his lips. Their mouths were making love to each other as their hands explored each other's bodies. Tali's moans and heaving breathing filled the air, in sync with the escalating passion._

Tali's eyes suddenly opened as she awoke. She was in Shepard's bed, by herself. All that had happened was just a vivid dream.

_I can't believe I actually dreamt that_, she thought to herself, as she rolled to her back and stared up at the ceiling. She noticed her breathing was heavier than usual. The dream had been very vivid, and left her actually feeling slightly stimulated. It was the type of dream that felt more like a memory of a real event than a dream.

Despite her initial thought, it really didn't surprise her that she dreamt what she did. Just like it didn't surprise her that in the dream, it didn't bother her that Shepard removed her mask. Part of her wanted what had occurred in the dream. All it did was support what she already knew; she was developing strong feelings for Shepard.

How could she not? Shepard was a dashing commander, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere and rescued her from assassins. He pulled her from one of the most desperate moments of her life, and whisked her away to safety, and then to adventure. Not only did he let her join his crew, he also constantly showed concern over her needs, and always treated her like an equal.

Adding unto all he had done for her, he was also a skilled warrior with seemingly unlimited bravery. Shepard was a famous figure of authority—he had a powerful, advanced ship and answered to no one but the Council itself. Tali couldn't deny that these qualities were appealing and exciting to her as an adventuress, young woman.

Tali sighed. Just as she was aware of her feelings for him, she was also aware that they could never be together. How could he ever want her as more than just a friend? How could he see past her suit; past her mask?

_Don't kid yourself, girl. Despite how well he treats you, you know he wouldn't be interested in you as anything beyond a friend. Why would he want a quarian whose skin he can't feel and whose face he can't even see, whenever he wants? You're the last woman on this ship he'd want. And besides, even if by some miracle he were interested in you, would you really be so selfish as to keep him, knowing you could never make him happy like he deserves?_

Tali sighed again, louder than before. She didn't want to think about these negative things right now. She lifted up her arm and activated her omni-tool to see the time.

"Oh Keelah, I've overslept by so much. Why didn't he wake me?" Tali quietly complained to herself as she sat up on the bed. She quickly scanned the room to see if Shepard was there.

She saw him. He was sitting on one of the two chairs around the circular table in the middle of the room, asleep. He sat low on the chair, in a relaxed pose. His feet were on top of the table, and his hands were together, resting on his laps, while his head was turned to the side slightly.

Tali instantly felt bad upon seeing him sleeping there. She knew if it weren't for her, he would've been able to sleep on his bed. She then got up and approached him, but was unsure if she should wake him. After hesitating for a bit, she decided to do it—maybe he'd want to continue sleeping on the bed?

She gently placed her hand on his shoulder, and his eyes instantly opened. His fast reaction to stimuli while sleeping made it obvious he had spent a long time in the military; he had to always be alert. He looked up Tali and smiled when he saw her, relaxing his guard as he assessed that what had woken him wasn't a threat. He then yawned.

"Good morning," he said as his yawn finished.

"Hey Shepard," Tali greeted in return. "Why didn't you wake me if you were tired? I feel bad now, that you had to sleep on that chair."

_You looked way too cute for me to wake you_. "I figured you needed a good sleep," Shepard answered. "But don't feel bad, I'm actually very comfortable. I may sleep like this more often." Shepard joked as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back to the side, as if trying to go back to sleep.

"Hey, get up!" Tali said in a playful voice, "Didn't you want to do some mission in that ground vehicle today?"

"Yes, but we won't be in Maji's orbit until about twelve-hundred hours," Shepard informed, using Alliance military time. He kept his eyes closed.

"It's eleven-hundred hundred now."

Shepard opened his eyes. "Oh. Damn, it _is_ late." Shepard then stood up and extended his arms outward as he stretched. After he finished, he smiled at Tali who was standing right in front of him and said, "That's the nice thing about FTL travel—not much to do around the ship, so we can get away with sleeping late. But anyway, did you sleep well?"

"Yes I did. I slept great, thank you." _I had a wonderful dream, too._

"I'm glad to hear it. Well, I'm going to go take care of some things before we arrive. Get ready and meet me by the Mako in an hour."

"See you soon."

. . .

With the Normandy now in orbit around the planet, Tali stood next to the Mako, waiting for Shepard. She took a moment to analyze the armored, human-designed vehicle, now that she was up close to it. She noticed it had thick plating, and all the wheels had independent suspension. After a short while of looking it over, she heard the elevator door open, and saw Shepard step out.

He approached and asked, "Ready, Tali?"

"Yes, let's go. This thing looks like it'll be fun to ride in," Tali answered enthusiastically.

Shepard activated the door that was located on the left side of the Mako, and it swung upwards as it opened. Shepard grabbed a handle located on the top of the Mako's interior, which he used to help pull himself up as he stepped in. Staying crouched due to the cramped interior, he moved over to the driver's seat and sat down.

Tali followed him inside, and sat down in the chair next to his, where the engineering terminal was. As she got in, she took a moment to notice that the Mako's interior had two rows of seats, two seats in each row. The first row was for the driver and engineer, and the second row was for the passengers. After they were both sitting in place, Shepard pressed a button on his control panel and the door closed by itself.

As soon as the door sealed shut, the interior lit up with a dim light. Shepard then flipped a switch, and a holo appeared before them, showing a vid display of the outside, which acted like a large window at the front of the Mako. Currently, all they could see was the docking door of the Normandy. The display had a heads-up display, which included a radar, a damage indicator of the Mako, weapon indicators, and various other elements vital to combat.

Shepard turned to Tali and said, "First thing you want to do is put on your security harness." He put it on right after his comment. Tali did so as well, and noticed it seemed unusual that a ground vehicle would have a harness that wrapped both horizontally around the torso, and vertically over the shoulders. It secured the passenger completely in place.

After their safety harnesses were in place, Shepard reached over and pressed a button in front of Tali, and a small holographic display appeared before her. "This is the engineering console. There's a manual for it… somewhere around here—if you want to look through it before we get going."

"Please Shepard, I'm a quarian. It'll take me less time to learn this by playing with it, than it would take me to read a manual."

Shepard chuckled lightly at her response, "I should have figured."

Tali began to look through the various menus and options on her display. They showed her technical data of the Mako, in-depth status on the various systems, options for rerouting power, and many other engineering options.

"This looks pretty straight forward. I shouldn't have any problem figuring this out," Tali commented, continuing to dig through and look over the console.

"We're approaching the drop zone, Commander. Opening the bay doors," was suddenly heard through the Mako's communicator; it was Joker.

Right after his message, there was a quiet rumbling as the doors in front of them opened. They were still several hundred feet above ground level, so all that was visible through the opened bay doors was Maji's red, hazy atmosphere and the subtle twinkling of stars behind the thin clouds covering the sky.

Tali looked up from her console, and saw how high they were. Having never ridden in the Mako before, she was completely unaware of its standard rapid deployment method. She looked at Shepard and asked, "So, I guess Joker will land the Normandy and we'll drive out?"

Shepard was staring straight ahead. As soon as he heard her question, he started to laugh in a playfully sinister way.

"Nope."

He then shifted into drive, and accelerated forward. The Mako shook lightly as it moved, approaching the opened bay door. Tali felt a split-second of vertigo as the Mako rolled down the ramp, and the ground of the planet hundreds of feet below came into view.

"Wait, what are you—KEELAH!" Tali yelled as the Mako drove off the ramp and plummeted downwards, completely surprising her. There was sudden rush of negative g-force from their freefall. Tali clutched Shepard's forearm with one hand, and the top of the Mako's interior with the other. Shepard just laughed as they rapidly approached the ground.

The feeling of weightlessness from the negative Gs was abruptly replaced with a feeling of heaviness as Shepard initiated the Mako's thrusters, which quickly slowed down their descent and exerted positive Gs on their bodies. After a few seconds, the Mako came to a hard stop as it landed on the ground. The vehicle's suspension absorbed most of the impact, causing it to rock up and down for a brief moment.

Tali was still clutching Shepard's arm. She then suddenly let go. "You bosh'tet! Why didn't you tell me that's how this damn tank got on the ground?"

Shepard covered his face with his palm and continued laughing, louder than before. "I'm sorry Tali. it slipped my mind that you didn't know the Mako was designed for rapid insertion."

"It slipped your mind? Is that why you were laughing the entire time we dropped?" Tali folded her arms, looking forward; away from Shepard.

Noticing his laughter was just making her upset, Shepard forced himself to stop, and then quietly sighed. "You're right, I should have said something." He paused for a moment, "You have to admit, though, that drop is pretty fun."

"I'm sure I would have thought so too, if I had any idea it was coming…" Tali responded in a snarky way. Thinking back to it, it _was_ kind of fun, but she wanted to give Shepard a hard time.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm not going to hear the end of this for a while?" Shepard mumbled.

"Hey Commander," Joker interrupted them through the communicator.

"What is it Joker?"

"We were in FTL for a while and the drive core needs to be discharged. Want me to fly up to the planet's north and discharge into its magnetic field? You know, while you're on your joyride date with Tali?"

Shepard shook his head, "Yes, Joker. Go discharge while I'm _surveying minerals_ with crew member Tali'Zorah." He was well aware Joker was just teasing, but he felt the need to stress that they were on the planet for a legitimate reason.

There was a short period of awkward silence after Joker's comment. Neither was sure what to say about it. Shepard decided to just avoid bringing it up. "Well, I guess we should get started," he said as he pushed down on the accelerator, causing the Mako to begin moving.

Now that they were on the ground and moving, they were able to get a good look at the planet's surface. Maji was a very red planet, and its surface was barren and uneven. It had a constant wind that pick up some of the silica and sodium dust that made up its ground, causing a subtle haze. Various hills, mountains, and rock formations littered the landscape, but Maji's most striking features were the two suns in its sky. Vamshi-A, a small, hot, blue star. And Vamshi-B, an aging red giant.

"This planet is not suitable for life, but this view… it's so beautiful," Tali commented as she stared at the vid display, admiring the stunning vista of the two contrasting suns in the sky. "That blue star and that red giant. They're so different, it's almost like they're opposites. Yet look how amazing they are together. They complement each other so well."

"They really are a stunning sight. The fact that they're different stars is what makes this binary system unique, too. If they were both white dwarves or both red giants, it wouldn't be nearly as special."

Tali turned her head and looked at Shepard as he faced straight ahead while he drove. There was something special about his words.

. . .

Shepard and Tali had been on Maji's surface for a while, and had successfully surveyed a few thorium, beryllium, and magnesium deposits. While they travelled between deposits, Tali carefully studied the Mako's systems through its engineering console. A few times Shepard initiated the micro-thrusters to their point of shutdown, as well as fired the machine gun enough to cause it to overheat, in an attempt to replicate some combat situations for Tali's benefit.

Tali quickly figured out everything there was to learn about the Mako's systems, and with nothing else to learn, she had just been engaging with Shepard in conversation for a while now, as he drove.

"Wait, so even though you work for them, you still have to buy your own weapons?" Tali asked, in regards to their current conversation about his Spectre status.

"It's pretty messed up, isn't it?"

"It doesn't make any sense. You'd think the Council would want all their Spectres to be as well equipped as possible. On the flotilla, the admiralty always ensures that our marines, especially those in strike teams, are properly equipped."

"Sounds pretty nice. Maybe after this mission against Saren is over, I'll go back to the flotilla with you and join Migrant Fleet Marines," Shepard chuckled quietly at his joke.

Tali laughed and played along, "Hah! I can take you back as my pilgrimage gift. No one's ever brought back a Spectre as their gift before."

They both laughed for a brief moment, until Shepard suddenly noticed something on the radar.

"That's odd, there's an anomaly on the side of that mountain," Shepard said, pointing at the indicator on his radar, "No wait, make that anomalies," he quickly added as more appeared on the radar as they got closer.

Shepard stopped the Mako, and carefully looked at the small mountain chain with the vid display. There was a winding trail going up to its top, and a few dark dots were noticeable along it. He zoomed in on them, and instantly recognized what they were: geth heavy turrets.

Well aware that they fired long range missiles, Shepard immediately shifted the Mako into reverse, and backed behind a small, nearby rock formation that blocked line of sight with them. He expected to see rockets impact the location where they had just been, but none did. This let Shepard know that they hadn't been detected.

"Those are geth turrets on that mountain!" he said.

"Geth? What are the geth doing out here?"

"That's a damn good question, and I want to find out," Shepard replied and then looked at Tali. "So, think you're ready for some combat in the Mako?"

"I'm always ready to blow up some geth," Tali replied in an eager, confident voice.

With just a smirk as his response, Shepard then slammed his foot on the accelerator. The Mako immediately took off from behind the rock formation. As soon as the distant geth turrets were visible again, Shepard fired a blast from the Mako's powerful 155mm mass accelerator cannon at the nearest one. Its shields flashed for a split second, showing that they had absorbed the attack. Quickly approaching the mountain, he began to pepper the geth turret with shots from the machine gun, wearing down what was left of its shields just in time for another blast from the main cannon. The turret exploded, sending pieces of debris rolling down the mountain side.

Shepard drove in a zigzagging style as he approached the mountain, in order to dodge the rockets raining down around them from the turrets. Missiles impacted all around them, causing clouds of dust to suddenly erupt and send pieces of rock and dirt everywhere; Tali and Shepard could hear the explosions only as muffled rumblings from within the sealed Mako. Despite his ability to dodge most of them, the Mako still took some hits, which removed a large percentage of their shields. As Shepard drove, Tali kept typing into the engineering console in order to maximize the Mako's shields.

After a while of frantic driving and a heated uphill battle, they were near the top of the small mountain. All the heavy turrets along the path to the top had been destroyed. The Mako's shields were just over fifty percent. As their ascent concluded and they reached the top, they found themselves on a small plateau of flat, level terrain. And there was an entire geth outpost on it to greet them.

Geth snipers shot at them from their sniping posts, while troopers fired with assault rifles. The first sniper post that came into view was hit by a blast of the Mako's main gun, which instantly killed the geth sniper and caused the post to collapse. The closest one was then sprayed with rounds from machine gun, the impact force of the rounds caused geth sniper atop it to get thrown off. The remaining geth snipers were taken out as Shepard interchanged the Mako's main cannon and the machine gun.

The snipers posts had all been destroyed, but then a group of geth troopers amassed near the entrance to the outpost, continuously shooting at the Mako with their assault rifles. Tali and Shepard suddenly began to hear a terrifying noise: the rapid _ping ping ping_ of rounds of ammunition striking the Mako's exterior. Their shields were completely gone.

Fortunately, it wasn't long before Shepard heard the particular sound he was waiting for, the mechanical _clunk_ of the main gun being armed and ready again. He aimed right at the foot of the group of geth troopers that had bottlenecked at the gate of the outpost, and fired. A large plume of dust and dirt rapidly sprung upwards, and flaming geth bodies and pieces went flying in all directions, eventually raining back down.

After taking a second to absorb what had happened, Shepard cheerfully said, "Damn, that was close."

"I tried to keep the shields up as long as possible, but the Mako's fuel cell can only output so much power."

"You did great, Tali. Having you micromanaging the Mako's systems absolutely made a difference. The shields lasted much longer than I—oh shit! Hang on!"

As they were talking, a geth Colossus—the most powerful of all geth ground forces—had just been dropped in by an overhead geth drop ship. It landed in a huddled position about fifty feet in front of them. As soon as it had landed on the ground, it stood upright and turned its head towards the Mako. Immediately, a blue siege pulse was shot from it, which Shepard narrowly dodged by using the thrusters of the Mako to 'hop' over it.

"Damn it! The thrusters used up the energy I was going to reroute to boost our shields up!" Tali yelled out while frantically typing into her console.

"I didn't have a choice! It was either that or get hit, and we can't take a hit without our shields!" Shepard responded just as he blasted the Colossus with the Mako's main cannon, which only managed to remove a portion of its shields. The Colossus then launched another siege pulse, but Shepard was able to dodge it this time just by driving out of its way.

"We don't stand a chance without our shields! What are we going to do?" Tali asked.

"I have an idea, hold on! This may hurt," Shepard responded, his eyes glued to the vid screen, awaiting the familiar blue flash of another unleashed siege pulse. As soon as it appeared, he hit the accelerator and just barely dodged it. But he kept accelerating and moving, right towards the Colossus; he was going to ram into it.

"Oh Keelah!" Tali exclaimed when she realized what Shepard was going to do.

"Hold on!" Shepard yelled just before they collided.

The Mako crashed against the Colossus just before it could unleash another siege pulse, and both Tali and Shepard were harshly rocked forward. The Colossus instantly collapsed and went limp from the impact, but the momentum of the Mako kept pushing forward, grinding it against the ground. Shepard kept pushing it, and then slammed the brakes a short distance before reaching the edge of the plateau of the top of the mountain. The Mako skid for several yards, and stopped just short of going over the edge. The Colossus was not as lucky.

It got pushed off the edge, and went rolling down a particularly steep side of the mountain. Bits and pieces of it broke off as it went tumbling down. About half way through, an entire leg got ripped off, and at a quarter of the way left to the ground it hit a large rock, which sent it into the air for a second. Another leg broke off as it fell back down, and it just slid the remainder of the way. By the time its momentum had ended and it was no longer moving, all that was left was a twisted, mangled mess. It was dead.

Both Shepard and Tali were able to see the Colossus tumble down the mountainside to its destruction, from their position on the edge at the top. After seeing it was completely disabled, Shepard started to laugh quietly. Tali just stared in somewhat disbelief at the dead Colossus.

"I can't believe that worked. Just… ramming it like that."

"Sometimes it pays off to be aggressive. You know, 'grab the bull by the horns,'" Shepard commented as he put the Mako into reverse and drove away from the edge.

"The 'bull'? What's that?"

"Oh, sorry," Shepard said with a quiet chuckle, "It's really easy to forget you're a different species."

Tali felt a burst of joy within her from hearing him say that. She was proud to be a quarian, of course, but hearing Shepard acknowledge that he so easily saw her as one of his own—that effectively, he saw past her suit and saw her for who she was—meant a great deal to her. She didn't show it, but she was overjoyed with his statement.

Shepard then explained, "Bulls are these large animals on earth. They walk on four legs and are bigger even than a krogan. They grow these horns from their head, and they attack by charging and goring their enemy with them. Taking initiative and grabbing their horns instead of running is where the expression comes from."

"They sound terrifying," Tali commented, somewhat disinterestedly. Her mind was still thinking about his previous comment.

"Commander, do you read me?" was suddenly heard over the communicator and interrupted them. It was Joker again.

"I'm here, Joker. You'll never believe what we ran into."

"Geth?" Joker guessed.

"That's right. I guess you saw one of their drop ships?"

"No, but while discharging the drive core we received a message from Admiral Hackett. They've gotten reports of geth throughout the Armstrong nebula, setting up outposts in many of the systems. He forwarded us the details, and wanted you check it out."

"Thanks Joker. Get ready to pick us up, we're done here."

"Copy that, ETA two minutes."

As soon as Shepard's talk with Joker ended, Tali looked at him and asked, "More geth in this part of the galaxy? That doesn't make any sense. Why would they be setting up in this area?"

"They could be preparing a major offensive, maybe even the first wave of an invasion."

"Are we going to investigate it?" she asked.

"Yes. The geth are allied with Saren, and I want to know what they're up to. Maybe we'll find something useful while checking this out."


	6. Then You'll Leave Us

_**Then You'll Leave Us**_

The Mako came to a stop in front of the small, circular structure sticking out of the ground. It was the entrance to a geth underground facility. Shepard, Tali, and Garrus stepped out of the Mako and walked towards it.

They were on Solcrum, the largest moon of the gas giant Notanban. Solcrum had virtually no atmosphere, so overhead they could see the blackness of space and the familiar view of countless stars sprinkled against it. The nearby local sun of the system, a blue giant star, gave the barren, rocky moon a distinct blue ambience.

As the three approached the structure, they walked past the mangled metal carcass of one of the two geth colossi they had fought just moments ago. The colossi, as well as several sniper posts, served as the defenses for underground structure.

"This has to be the primary geth base. The outside was too well guarded to be a regular outpost," Tali commented as they walked.

"I got to hand it to you, Commander. Attacking the geth from the top of that nearby mountainous area was a great idea. They couldn't touch us; they never stood a chance," Garrus complimented.

"Sun Tzu talked a lot about the importance of using terrain to your advantage, specifically higher ground. It just makes sense to use it. Especially when you have high mobility, like we do with the Mako," Shepard responded.

"Who?" Garrus asked, unfamiliar with the name.

"I'll tell you another time, Garrus," Shepard said as he opened the door that led down into the underground facility.

They walked down a short tunnel, and after passing another door, they found themselves in a small antechamber. Behind the next door would be the main part of the geth facility; and very likely, a significant concentration of geth forces.

From the moment they had stepped into the antechamber, a distant, muffled song could be faintly heard coming from the main area. "Do you guys hear that? It sounds like… singing," Garrus commented. He gripped his assault rifle slightly tighter; he didn't like the unusualness of it.

"I hear it too. It's… a quarian singing. The song is in my language," Tali added, with some astonishment in her voice.

"It must be some kind of recording. Let's figure out what the deal with it is after we handle the geth. Get ready." Shepard said, keeping his voice down. He then approached the door and positioned himself on its right side. With his hand, he signaled for Garrus to stand on its left, and Tali to stand on the right, next to him.

Shepard held his sniper rifle, Garrus his assault rifle, and Tali got her omni-tool ready. After checking that everybody was prepared, Shepard hit the button that opened the door.

There was a geth trooper standing near the door, who was immediately killed as Garrus shot it with a burst from his assault rifle. At the same time, Shepard used his sniper rifle to quickly pick off a geth on a catwalk at the far left side of the large room. Tali typed into her omni-tool, and managed to use her hacking ability to override the friend/foe identification system of one of the geth troopers in the rear, causing it to start attacking other geth.

Garrus then shot a few long bursts into the room, providing covering fire for Shepard and Tali. The two ran inside and took cover behind some equipment several yards in front of the door. Once in position, Shepard saw that there were geth hoppers inside, so he swapped out to his assault rifle, knowing that hoppers were generally too fast to be picked off by sniper rifles. Tali used a few more tech abilities to overload the enemy shields and weapons, and then swapped out to her shotgun, shooting continuous barrages in conjunction with Shepard's assault rifle blasts. A few times some geth troopers attempted to go around the sides of their cover and flank them, but with Garrus staying back at the doorway, he was able to guard their flanks and rear.

Thanks to their organization, skill, and Shepard's leadership, just a few minutes later the battle was over without any incident; none of them had even lost their shields. They were well accustomed to fighting geth, who were generally very predictable. The underground facility—which was composed almost entirely of the large, tall room they were in—was now completely clear of enemy forces and the trio was safe to move around and examine it.

"Look at all this geth equipment. This was definitely their base," Shepard noted, referring to the numerous consoles, transmitters, and other large pieces of equipment that were all over the room. They were distinctly geth engineering; round, smooth, and curvy, as if attempting to look organic. Entire walls were covered with the geth equipment.

"About time we found their main base. We've been taking out outposts throughout the sector for over a week now," Garrus commented as he folded his assault rifle and attached it to his back.

Tali wandered over to the source of the music they noticed earlier; it had been playing even during the battle. The source was a monitor in the rear of the room, that showed a quarian standing before a hushed crowd, warbling a mournful cappella. Noticing Tali looking at it, Shepard walked over and stood next to her, and also watched the vid on the monitor. After a short moment, the vid abruptly ended.

Shepard walked to the terminal under the monitor, and saw that the recorded song had been transmitted deep into geth territory. "The song was sent to the geth worlds behind the Perseus Veil. Why do you think that is?" Shepard asked Tali.

"I don't know. It's very strange," Tali replied. It was obvious from her tone that she was also confused, and disturbed, by the strange behavior of the geth.

"Hey Shepard! Come take a look at this," Garrus called out from the nearby backroom he had walked into. Shepard went inside. "Look at this terminal," Garrus stepped aside, and Shepard walked up to it. He began to type into it, and looked at what it contained. Tali entered the room while he was working with it.

"This is significant. There's terabytes worth of data on the geth in here. We've never gotten direct access to so much data on them before." Shepard pulled out a small OSD from one of his suit pockets and inserted it into the console. "I'm going to make a copy of this. The Alliance will definitely want to see it."

Tali quietly observed. She knew Shepard was right, this data they had found was indeed significant. For many reasons.

. . .

Several days had passed since they thwarted the geth incursion in the Armstrong nebula, and found the geth data. And Tali couldn't figure out why she still had not asked Shepard for a copy of it.

From the moment she heard Shepard describe what it was, she knew she wanted to have a copy. She instantly realized that her search for a pilgrimage gift was over. This data wasn't only important to her, but to her whole people. It could very well lead to the quarians getting their home world back one day. But, despite knowing its importance, she still hadn't asked Shepard about it.

Maybe it was because she was afraid that Shepard would say no. It seemed unlikely, as her and Shepard were good friends. At this point, she considered him her best friend; not just aboard the Normandy, but her best friend period. She knew fear of rejection wasn't the real reason. It was something else.

It had long been clear to her that she had feelings for Shepard, and as she thought about them, she realized why she had been hesitating to ask for the data. The geth data would be her pilgrimage gift, and by having a suitable gift, it would mean her pilgrimage would be over. Having that data on her would be a constant reminder that her time with Shepard would soon come to an end. Once Saren is defeated, she would have no reason to stay with him, and she'd have to go back to her people; and likely never see Shepard again. It was something that made her sad to think about.

Tali loved her people, and she was eager to see her friends and family on the Flotilla again. She couldn't wait to tell them all about her pilgrimage; about how she served aboard humanity's most advanced vessel, about her adventure to save the galaxy, and how she battled so many geth. But she couldn't ignore the fact that there was no one on the fleet she had intimate feelings for like she did with Shepard. No one she would have a dream about, like the one she had so many nights ago.

But despite her feelings for him, she knew she couldn't ignore her duty to her people.

_You need to stop being stupid and just forget about him. You'll never be with him, you know that. Stop being selfish, and go ask for that data. Go get it over with. It's important not just for you, but for your entire people. _

Tali sighed, knowing she couldn't ignore that logical voice in her head. She needed to ask for the data. Although it meant she'd have to say goodbye to Shepard after their mission against Saren was over, it also potentially meant that her people might just be able to go back home one day, which was more important than anything she could ever want. She knew that as a quarian, she had to always put the needs of others above what she wanted; especially when what she wanted, was a stupid pipedream.

"Hey Adams, I need to go talk to Shepard," Tali said as she backed away from her console in Engineering. Adams acknowledged from the other side of the room by nodding his head once, and Tali walked away, heading toward the elevator.

After reaching the crew deck and walking to Shepard's quarters, she knocked on the door, and stepped inside once he said to come in.

"Hello Tali," Shepard said from his desk near the bed. As usual, he was happy to see her.

"Hi Shepard," Tali greeted in return as she approached. Shepard could tell she wasn't in her typical high spirited mood. "Are you free? To talk?" Tali asked as she sat down on the corner of his bed, and held her hands together. Shepard swiveled his chair around and faced her.

"Of course. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything is… as it should be." There was a short pause during her sentence.

"I'm glad to hear it. What do you need, Tali?"

Tali thought for a moment for the best way to approach him in regards to the geth data. She suddenly saw a small, metallic trinket on his desk. She had noticed it before during other visits to Shepard's quarters, but had never asked about it, despite being curious of what it was. She figured bringing it up would be a good way to start a friendly conversation, before asking about the data.

"What is that small device on your desk?"

Shepard grabbed it and held it up. "This? You came up to ask about this?" Shepard said with an amused look on his face.

"Well, no. But I've seen it before and I'm curious. What is it?"

"I have no idea. The asari Consort gave it to me back on the Citadel. She didn't know what it was, either."

"The… Consort gave that to you? I've heard of her. Isn't she, uh… some kind of… prostitute?" For a moment, Tali pictured Shepard's body entangled with the blue, naked body of an asari; the two of them having sexual intercourse together. The mental image made her feel disturbed, angry, and sick to her stomach. It made her feel jealous.

"To be honest, I've never been too clear on what exactly she does," Shepard responded with some lighthearted amusement, "I even asked her—all I got was a vague response. Seems like she does different things for different people," he concluded, and then went back to the subject of the trinket. "Anyway, I got this as a reward for helping her out with some trouble she had with a turian general and an elcor diplomat. She also gave me a poem; she referred to it as 'a gift of words.'"

"Did she give you… anything else?" She posed the question as if asking if he received any other items or credits, but the real reason she asked was out of curiosity if he had slept with her. Despite being curious about it, a big part of her really did not want to know. She regretted the question the moment she asked it, and found herself wanting to take it back.

"Nope, just this trinket and the 'gift of words.' Something I could've used sure would have been nice, though. Like some credits…"

_He didn't sleep with her. And it doesn't seem he was interested in her at all. Good._ Feeling relieved, Tali half laughed at his comment and added, "Seems like she makes a lot of money. Would have been nice of her to actually pay you."

Shepard put the trinket back on his desk. There was a moment of silence, and he was just about to ask what she had come up to talk about, when he was suddenly interrupted by Joker over the communicator.

"Commander, sorry to bother you, but I have the Council on the line. It's urgent, they want to speak to you right away."

Shepard sighed; he didn't feel like dealing with the Councilors at the moment, "Alright, I'll head over to the comm room right away." He then said to Tali, "I'm sorry, but the bosses are calling. I need to go see what they want."

"It's okay, Shepard. I'll talk to you later."

"I shouldn't be gone very long, we'll talk when I get back." Shepard then got up and left the room.

The meeting with the Council was relatively quick. After plotting a course to their new destination in the CIC, he returned back to the crew deck and entered his quarters. He was disappointed to see Tali wasn't there, so he stepped back outside and took the elevator down to engineering. He found Tali working at her console.

"Got a moment, Tali?"

Tali was slightly startled; she hadn't heard him walk up behind her. She turned and replied, "Of course Shepard. How did your meeting with the Council go?"

"They gave me a new assignment. Apparently there's a salarian reconnaissance team in trouble, on some planet called Virmire. They were gathering information on Saren, so it's vital we find them. We'll arrive some time tomorrow."

"Do you think we'll find Saren there?"

"I don't know. We'll see when we get there."

There was a short period of silence, until Shepard remembered the reason he came down to see her. "Anyway, what was it you wanted to talk about earlier?"

Tali hesitated for a short moment, and decided to once again put it off. "It's nothing urgent. We'll talk about it another time." _I really shouldn't do this. What is wrong with me?_

"Are you sure? I get the feeling something is troubling you."

"No, really, I'm fine. We'll talk about it after the next mission. It can wait."

Shepard sighed and looked at her for a moment. He knew something was troubling her, but he didn't want to push her. "Whenever you want to talk, feel free to come see me. Alright, Tali?" He gave her a smile to comfort her.

"I will. Thanks."

"I'm going to go. I need to let the others know of the mission, and I need to start planning for it."

"Alright. See you later."

Shepard then walked away, and Tali turned back around to her engineering console. Just before he left engineering, Shepard stopped and turned around. He looked at Tali for a short moment as she worked.

_It's obvious she wants the geth data. Probably for her pilgrimage gift. Maybe I should just offer it to her?_ Shepard thought to himself, _Then again, once she has it, she won't have a reason to stay. I won't see her again._

Shepard sighed, and then left.


	7. Saren Can't Hide From Us

_**Saren Can't Hide From Us**_

The sun was setting on Virmire, where the salarian reconnaissance team was encamped. They were located near the coast, and the Normandy was hovering just outside the camp, over the water. Shepard and his team had arrived a short while ago.

After meeting with the leader of the salarian team, Captain Kirrahe, the group came up with a plan to attack Saren's nearby base. They were going to split up into four teams: Aegohr, Mannovai, Jaeto, and Shadow. The first three teams were going to be led and coordinated by Kirrahe and Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. Their purpose would be to do a frontal assault on the base, attracting the attention of the base's forces so as to create a diversion. Meanwhile, Team Shadow, which would be led by Shepard, would infiltrate the rear of the base and plant a nuclear bomb, jury rigged from the drive core of the salarians' ship.

Because the Normandy had reached the planet at a late hour and night was nearly upon them, the group decided to go through with the attack the following morning. Although darkness would benefit Shepard's infiltration team, a nighttime attack would be disastrous for the diversion teams.

There was an eerie calm in the camp as night approached. Very little could be heard, besides the sounds of the nearby ocean. Most people were focused on the upcoming battle. Their minds filled with a strange mix of determination, nervousness, and uncertainty. A feeling shared by countless soldiers and warriors throughout the ages on the eve of battles.

Tali stepped out of one of the tents in the camp where she had been killing time by discussing tech with one of the salarians. She now wanted to speak to Shepard, so she quickly scanned the area for him. On the far side of the camp she saw Wrex, who was talking with Garrus. She smiled to herself, thinking back to how Shepard managed to reason with him and convince him that destroying the base—and the Genophage cure—was the right thing to do. _Is there anything that man can't do? _

She kept scanning the camp with her eyes, but couldn't see Shepard anywhere. She noticed Ashley Williams was nearby. Tali approached her, figuring maybe she knew.

"Chief Williams, have you seen Commander Shepard? I want to speak to him."

"Skipper said he was going to go for a walk. He went down that path over there," Ashley answered, and pointed down the path they had driven through on the Mako earlier, that brought them to the salarian camp. The path was a watery trail through a small canyon within the rocky terrain, which eventually led to the coast.

"Thanks," Tali responded, and started walking in that direction.

The entire area beyond the camp was covered in shallow, foot-high water. Tali found it fun to walk on. She liked hearing the subtle splashing she caused as she walked, and enjoyed the sensation of the wet sand beneath her boots sinking with each step. Walking on such a surface was one of the many things she had just now on her pilgrimage experienced for the first time. She found herself wishing it were possible for her to walk barefoot; she could only imagine what the wet sand would feel like without her suit and metal boots in the way.

After several minutes of walking, she reached the mouth of the small canyon, which terminated near the coastline. Numerous large rocks made up a natural wall against the ocean. She then noticed Shepard sitting on one of the rocks, staring out at the orange, setting sun on the ocean's horizon.

"That is a beautiful view," Tali commented as she approached him.

Shepard turned his head and smiled as he saw her approaching. "Yes, it is," he responded. It wasn't obvious, but his response was a double entendre referring to more than just the ocean vista before him; Tali looked particularly nice with the orange light of the setting sun shining on her.

She approached and stood behind the rock Shepard was sitting on, which was tall enough for her to rest her hands on it. She stood at his side, and joined him in admiring the ocean.

"I've never seen anything like this before. The sun setting over the ocean's horizon like that… it's amazing."

"It's very soothing, and peaceful. This view brings back some pleasant memories from my youth. When I was a kid on earth, on some evenings I'd go to one of the harbors of the city I lived in, and I'd stare out at the ocean until dark. It always made me feel at peace—it made me feel like everything would be alright." Shepard said, now back to staring straight ahead at the ocean and setting sun.

Tali was pleasantly surprised hearing him mention something about his youth. Shepard always avoided talking about his life on Earth; his upbringing. Even after all the time she had spent on the Normandy talking to him, she hardly knew anything about it. She decided to try her luck and ask about it again; maybe this time he'll open up to her.

"Why don't you ever tell me about your childhood, Shepard? Even after all this time, I still don't know anything about it."

Shepard didn't respond.

"Come on. You know a bunch about my life growing up on the flotilla. Yet I still hardly know anything about your life before the Alliance. You can at least tell me about your family. I don't even know anything about your parents; you've never once mentioned them."

Shepard laughed quietly at her comment. "You really don't know anything about my life on Earth, do you?" Shepard hesitated for a moment, and then finally continued, "I never bring up my parents because… I didn't have any. I was an orphan."

"Keelah. I didn't know. I'm… I'm so sorry." Tali was surprised to learn of that, but at the same time, it suddenly made so much sense. She couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to her before.

"Don't be."

"Who raised you, though? You must have had some kind of family on Earth, or at least someone who took care of you."

"I didn't. I was raised in some hellhole orphanage until I was about eight—I don't remember exactly. At that age I ran away, and I lived on my own on the streets." There was a short moment of silence, and Shepard sighed loudly. "I ran with some street gangs for a while, too. I had to, in order to survive. It's one of the reasons I hate talking about my youth so much. I'm not proud of that life, or many of the things I did during it."

Tali didn't know what to say. As difficult as life on the flotilla was, she at least grew up with a family. She was taken care all through her life, and never felt alone. Growing up without some kind of caring family was something difficult for her to imagine. On the flotilla, even quarians she wasn't related to at least felt like distant family members.

After a moment, Shepard continued and said, "It's funny. Quarians are the ones who have reputations for being beggars and thieves. And yet that's exactly what I was for a long time." He sighed again, "I don't know, maybe… that's why I like to hear you talk about your people… I like hearing how their reputation is false, and that they're more than what others believe them to be. It's also nice to hear how close you all are; you're all a family. That's something I never truly had."

Tali got up on the rock where Shepard was, and sat down right next to him. She turned her head and looked at him. He looked right back.

"Don't feel sad, Shepard. And don't be ashamed. You were just a child. Like you said, you had no family, no one to take care of you—I can't even imagine what that's like for a young person. You did what you had to in order to survive. All that is in the past now; it doesn't matter. What matters is who you are _now_. Which is an amazing, wonderful person. It's an honor to serve with you, Commander… and to be your friend."

Shepard smiled at her, and looked at her for a short while, right at her eyes. He finally said in a soft voice, "I'm not sure what it is about you, but you always manage to make me feel happy, and at peace, when I need it most. You've been like that since I met you. It's almost like… you're the ocean I use to stare at as a kid, bringing me peace; letting me know everything will be alright."

Tali was very touched by his words. She didn't know she meant that much to him, or that she had that effect on him. She wasn't sure how to respond, but she knew she had to say something. "You're, um… welcome. I'm glad…" was all she could respond with, in quiet, nervous mumble.

There was a long period of silence. Neither said anything, and the only noise heard came from the waves of the ocean gently crashing against the rocks before them. After a while, the lull in their conversation was broken by Shepard.

"You wanted to ask for the geth data yesterday, didn't you?"

"How did… yes. Yes I did," Tali answered, caught off guard by the question.

"For your pilgrimage, right?"

"Yes, it would be my pilgrimage gift. But it's more important than just that… it might help my people get our home back one day," Tali held her hands together nervously as she talked. A moment passed and Shepard hadn't responded to her comment, so Tali finally asked, "Will you give me the data?"

After hesitating for a short while, Shepard quietly responded, "I really don't want to."

Tali was surprised to hear that. And saddened. While nervous about it, she hadn't been expecting him to decline her request. "You… really won't give me a copy?"

"I didn't say I wasn't going to. I just said I didn't want to."

Though Tali was relieved to hear him say he would give her the data, she was curious as to why he didn't want to. "Thank you. It means a lot to me. But… why don't you want to?"

Shepard turned his head and looked right at her again. He smiled, and said in a warm voice, "I'll tell you another time, Tali. But don't worry, I know how important it is to you. And it's really difficult to say no to you—I'll give you a copy, I promise."

Tali was glad to hear him say all that, and again felt touched by his words. But she still wanted to know why he didn't _want_ to give her the data. "Is it because it's technically Alliance intelligence now? Are you worried you'll get in trouble with your superiors?"

"Nah, I'm not worried about that at all. If they ask, I'll just tell them you beat me up and took it," Shepard answered with an amused grin.

Tali giggled at his joke and said, "Yes, I'm sure they'll believe that a young female quarian was able to beat up the great Commander Shepard."

"I've seen you on missions. You can be pretty scary, especially with that shotgun of yours."

"Hah, thanks, but it's only because father made sure I received extra training before my pilgrimage."

"Oh, that's right. Your father is like the ruler of your people. I forgot you were a princess."

"I told you, I'm not royalty! Our government doesn't work that way. My father is just the senior member of the admiralty, so don't call me that."

"Sure thing… your majesty."

"You bosh'tet…" Tali mumbled in a playful tone.

Shepard chuckled and asked, "What does that even mean anyway?"

"Trust me, you do not want to know…"

Laughing quietly, Shepard turned his head back towards the ocean.

The sun had now set. Just over the horizon the sky was a gradient that began as a fading orange, and eventually turned into the dark blue of twilight. Some stars were now becoming visible overhead in the darker parts of it.

Noticing that night was now upon them, Shepard got up off the rock and said, "Come on Tali, let's go back to the camp."

Tali also got up off the rock, and started to walk back in the direction of the camp. Shepard looked at the ocean one last time, and then turned around. As he turned, he saw Tali's back as she walked. He took a moment to admire how nice she looked in the subtle light of twilight. He noticed her shotgun on her lower back, and suddenly remembered something he had been meaning to show her.

"Hey Tali, hold on a second," he said as he quickly walked up to her. She stopped and turn around.

"Yes?"

"I've noticed on missions you tend to favor your shotgun. Let me see yours, there's something I want to show you."

"Alright." Tali reached behind her back and detached her shotgun. She then handed it over to Shepard. "What do you to show me?"

"A shotgun technique." Shepard held up the shotgun, and pointed it out over the sea, "What you do is keep the weapon armed, but disable its mass accelerator. And then you pull the trigger," he explained, and did it himself. The gun made a slight mechanical noise, but nothing happened.

"It doesn't do anything. The weapon can't fire if the mass accelerator is off."

"You're half right. It doesn't fire, but it does do something. Since the weapon is active and ready to fire, the slugs still get removed from the ammo block, and loaded into the barrel. So when you re-enable the mass accelerator and pull the trigger again, this happens," Shepard then pulled the trigger, and a bright, glowing projectile that looked like a fireball blasted out of the shotgun, flying out over the sea and leaving a faint, smoky trace behind it.

"Oh wow, so that's what that is. I had seen some of the geth do that before—I always wondered what it was. It makes sense though; by forcing the shotgun to shoot twice as many slugs at the same time, the extra friction causes them to get superheated and fuse into a fireball projectile."

"The Alliance guys refer to the technique as 'Carnage,' and with good reason."

"That's really neat, Shepard. Thanks for showing me that. I can't believe I didn't know about it already…"

"Don't mention it. Hopefully it'll come in handy on the mission tomorrow."

After handing the shotgun back to her, they proceeded to walk back to the camp.

. . .

Saren's base on Virmire had two primary purposes. In one area of the base, the effects of indoctrination were heavily studied; Saren's attempt to protect himself from eventually falling under control of Sovereign. In the other, there was a large breeding facility for krogan, with the intent on creating a krogan army.

At the very heart of the base was a large outdoor area, where water flowed down an inclined concrete ground in a wide, shallow stream. There were several fuel tanks on either side of the stream. Near the end of the area, the water swirled around a tall silo structure, which was where it drained. This was the area where the nuke was to be placed.

Shepard's Shadow team managed to successfully infiltrate the base and fight their way to its heart. Shortly after planting the nuke, Saren appeared. He swooped into the area standing atop a geth-designed flying platform. After some shots were exchanged, Saren and Shepard talked from a distance. Saren revealed the reasons for his actions, and how he believed destruction from the reapers was inevitable. Shepard attempted to talk him out of his decision to help Sovereign, but it was futile. All it did was instigate Saren to keep attacking.

"But you would undo my work. You would doom our entire civilization to complete annihilation. And for that, you must die." Were Saren's words as he ascended into the air on his glider, and began a heavy assault against Shepard.

Shepard and his team were forced to hide behind cover as Saren unleashed numerous biotic attacks upon them. Gunfire got exchanged, and at one point one of the large fuel tanks suddenly exploded, creating a bright flash and sending a wave of heated air in all directions. Saren took advantage of the confusion caused by the explosion, and quickly unleashed a barrage of biotic attacks on them. Ashley, who was near the nuke, got knocked unconscious. The rest of the team was also momentarily incapacitated from the assault, and Shepard found himself isolated from them as one of the biotic attacks blasted him away from his cover.

Seizing the opportunity, Saren quickly swooped down on his glider and jumped off. With a firm grip of his left, synthetic geth arm, he grabbed Shepard by the throat and held him up high. Despite his nearly unconscious state, Shepard immediately clutched at Saren's hand and wrist with both hands in order to keep his body weight off his neck. Saren was at the point of killing him by crushing his throat.

Suddenly Saren's biotic barrier flashed as a shotgun blast struck him from behind. He tossed Shepard forward and turned around to assess the current threat. Just as he turned around, a bright fireball—a carnage attack from a shotgun—exploded right in front of Saren. His biotic barrier absorbed all the damage from it, but the sudden flash of light and loud noise left him momentarily stunned.

Tali was the one attacking Saren. She fired unrelentingly at him, as quickly as her shotgun allowed, walking forward with a determined step. With each attack, Saren's biotic barrier flashed, absorbing the damage. Tali wasn't sure just how strong it was, but she knew it was impossible for it to handle many more shotgun blasts from such a close range. There were limits to how strong a biotic barrier could be, even from a cybernetically augmented individual like Saren.

Her teeth were clenched with anger and determination as she fired again and again. With each shotgun blast, she wanted nothing more than to see his biotic barrier disappear, and for the blue blood of a turian to spray into the air, as his scales and flesh got shredded to pieces by shotgun slugs. Not only did Saren directly threaten her life at one point, and just now Shepard's, but he was a threat to all organic beings in the galaxy. She wanted to see him die.

Saren's biotic barrier was at the point of breaking. But despite the unrelenting barrage from Tali, Saren managed to compose himself enough to extend his arm forward, launching a biotic push towards her. It was weak, but it was strong enough to push her back, causing her weapon to be knocked out of her hand as she fell down to the watery ground.

Saren quickly approached her and removed his pistol from his hip. He pointed it at Tali, who was still on the ground, holding her upper body up with her arms. She was frozen in place as she stared at Saren.

"You're the quarian responsible for that evidence against me. Things would have been much easier if I hadn't lost my Spectre status. I should have done this a long time ago."

Saren lifted his pistol slightly and took aim at her faceplate, pointing right between the two dots of light that were Tali's eyes.

Just before he fired, Saren's body got harshly pushed as he got tackled by Shepard. The pistol still went off, and it hit Tali on the outside of her upper left arm. She instantly clutched at it. It hurt, but she was grateful for the pain. It meant she was still alive.

"Get the FUCK away from her!" Shepard yelled as he assaulted Saren.

They both nearly lost their balance from the tackle, but they managed to stay on their feet and clutch at each other, wrestling on their feet briefly, trying to get leverage on the other. Shepard kept churning with his feet, pushing against Saren, and finally managed to get enough momentum to give him a strong push. Now that there was some space between them, Shepard launched a quick, hard punch with his left fist, hitting Saren in the face. Saren then swung back with his right arm, but Shepard lifted his left shoulder and managed to block the punch.

With his torso's left side twisted forward from blocking Saren's punch, Shepard unleashed a right hook with all the power of his body behind it. Saren attempted to dodge it, but it came too fast and too hard; it struck the side of his head. The force of the impact caused Saren to stumbled backwards and collapse unto the shallow water flowing beneath their feet.

Saren's vision instantly went black for a moment, but quickly reappeared; everything was heavily blurred and doubled. He had a pounding headache, and there was a strong rush of lightheadedness. He knew he had almost lost consciousness, and he was also aware that Shepard had momentum now. His many years of combat experience told him that this fight was already lost, and that he had to ignore his hurt pride and escape.

Knowing he had to flee, Saren quickly jumped up and ran to his nearby glider with a light stumble. As soon as he got on it, the glider took off and fled. Both Saren and Shepard stared at each other for a brief moment as he flew away. The two of them knew this would not be their last encounter together. Right after Saren escaped, the loud warning siren from the nuke started to sound off.

Tali approached Shepard, still clutching her left arm. Just then Shepard realized she had gotten shot and worriedly asked, "Tali, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I barely got hit, it's just a scratch."

Seeing that her injury was minor, Shepard turned around to check up on the rest of the crew. He saw Garrus helping Ashley up, who had been lying near the nuke. He jogged over and helped Garrus get her up.

"Let's get out of here, we don't have much time!" Shepard ordered as soon as Ashley was on her feet. The Normandy touched down in front of them, and they quickly boarded it through the docking bay. The Normandy then took off.

As they were leaving the planet's atmosphere, there was flash of light on Virmire's surface. The nuke had gone off, creating a bright glowing ball of energy with a shockwave that quickly expanded away from it. After several seconds, the luminosity of the nuclear explosion faded, and was replaced by a rising pyrocumulus, mushroom-shaped cloud.

Shepard stood there in the Normandy's docking bay, unmoving and unsaying a word. Though they had successfully destroyed Saren's base, this was not a time of celebration. Only moments ago he had been forced to make a choice, and one of his crewmates had to be left behind. He stared at his omni-tool, which showed the status of all his team members. Under Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, all that his omni-tool displayed was 'NO SIGNAL.'

Tali stood nearby, looking at Shepard. She knew he had lost not only one of his crewmates, but also a friend. She was aware that there weren't words that could make him feel better. But she also knew that she should say something to him, and let him know he wasn't alone.

She approached him slowly, and Shepard looked at her to acknowledge her presence. "I'm so sorry, Shepard. Having to choose between two crewmates—two friends—I can't imagine ever being able to make a choice like that," Tali said in attempt to comfort him.

Shepard looked at her, and gave her a weak, weary smile. "Pray you never have to. But thank you, Tali," he responded with a sigh, and then noticed she was still holding unto her injury, "Go to med-bay and have Chakwas look at your arm. I should go talk to Ashley. And I need to inform the Council of what happened."


	8. I'm Interested

_**I'm Interested**_

"I love the precision of sniper rifles. One shot, one kill—they never even get a chance to see you," Garrus commented as he held up a Volkov sniper rifle from the weapons bench in the cargo bay. Both he and Wrex were discussing weapons.

"Sniper rifles are for weaklings and cowards," Wrex mocked in response. "Give me a shotgun any day. There's nothing quite like staring your enemy in the eye, just before his flesh is shredded to pieces."

"With a sniper rifle and a proper vantage point, a skilled shooter can be unstoppable. If the area is defensible, he can hold out for days. You can't do that with a shotgun," Garrus rebutted.

"No, with a shotgun you can just kill them all on the first day."

Shepard walked up behind them during their discussion and greeted them, "Hey guys." Both Garrus and Wrex turned around.

"Hey Commander," greeted Garrus.

"Shepard," Wrex nodded.

"What are you guys arguing about?" Shepard inquired.

"I'm glad you asked," Garrus replied, and then asked, "Tell us, what do you prefer, shotguns or sniper rifles?"

"Whichever is better suited for the situation and environment at hand," Shepard responded in a matter-of-fact way. It was an easy question.

"Right, of course. But which do you prefer all around?" Garrus insisted on an answer.

"Forget it, I'm not getting involved in your argument."

"Based on what happened on Virmire yesterday, Shepard's favorite weapons are his fists," Wrex said with a quick, snorting laugh. "Kicking Saren's ass just before nuking his base? That must have been a real kick in the quad for him."

Before Shepard could respond, there was a loud crashing sound from the other end of the docking bay. They all turned, and saw Tali next to the elevator. She had been on her way to Engineering, when she dropped some metal pipes, tools and other engineering components that she was carrying. She grunted loudly in frustration, and lividly yelled "Bosh'tet!" as she bent over and quickly picked up what she dropped.

"Tali seems… angry," Shepard commented.

"She's been like that all day. I'm afraid to go near her," said Garrus.

"You're afraid to go near a lot of things. That's why you like sniper rifles," Wrex taunted, alluding to their previous debate.

"I'm going to go see what's bothering her before you two get started on that again. Try not to shoot each other." Shepard parted from them and walked towards Engineering, where Tali now was.

As he entered the engineering area, he noticed Tali kneeled before an opened access panel on the left wall. The pile of items she had been carrying was right next to her. She was obviously working on replacing or upgrading some components. As Shepard approached her from behind, he heard her cough.

"Tali?"

"What?" She asked curtly, and turned her head. Seeing it was Shepard, she immediately said in a kinder voice, "Oh, Shepard, it's you." She placed the tool she held on the floor as she stood up. "Is there something I can do you for?"

"I just wanted to talk. It looks like you're busy, though."

"No! Don't worry, what I'm working on isn't critical; It can wait. What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"I noticed you seem frustrated. Is everything alright?"

"Oh. Sorry," Tali apologized, feeling slightly embarrassed. She knew he was right; she had been irritable all day. "I just have a fever, and I've been taking it out on… well, everything."

"You're sick, too? Do you need some time to rest?"

"No, no. Thank you, but I'm fine. It's not even an illness, really. What I have is actually an acute allergic reaction."

"An allergic reaction?"

"That's right. I can't actually get a disease from the germs of most races. For example, what's that illness Pressly's currently in the med-bay for? Chicken pox? I wouldn't get chicken pox, but I'd run a fever as my system reacted to the foreign presence. I might get other symptoms too, like nausea or vomiting."

"I see. I'm assuming you're sick because that shot punctured your suit yesterday? How is your arm feeling, by the way?"

"It's feeling fine. The slug almost didn't even hit me; it was just close enough to cause a deep scratch. But yes, the suit puncture is the reason I'm sick."

Shepard briefly looked at her left arm where she had gotten shot. The suit puncture had since been repaired and sealed with an application of omni-gel. "I guess suit punctures can be pretty dangerous for quarians, huh?"

"They are. It's usually a matter of luck how bad a reaction is, but our suits do have ways to help minimize the risk from being exposed to open air. Many sections of the suit can be sealed off, and they can automatically administer antibiotics and other medicine."

"No offense Tali, but I don't know if I could live in a suit my whole life. Suited life sounds difficult."

"It can be. We very rarely take off our suits, too; we're in them even among family. Our most important gesture of trust and acceptance is to link our suit environments. We get sick at first, but then we adapt. It's the most intimate thing we can do with another quarian."

The concept of linking suit environments was something new to Shepard. He found it intriguing. "I've never heard of that before. Have you ever—"

"No!" Tali cut him off before he could finish his sentence, "I've never… I haven't trusted anyone enough for that. Except for… well, no quarians. Uh, you know what I mean…"

Shepard gave her a warm smile. It was obvious she meant him, and he was glad to know she trusted him so much. "I'm happy to hear it, and I trust you too, Tali. If I were a quarian, I'd gladly link suit environments with you," he responded. His comment was said in ignorance of how truly significant, and intimate, the gesture of linking suit environments was for a quarian.

"Oh Keelah… wow, that's… you don't understand, Shepard," Tali responded, suddenly sounding very embarrassed. "It's not just about trust… the tradition often also signifies a willingness for, uh, intimacy… So by saying that, you basically said you'd… be interested in, umm…" Tali trailed off, too embarrassed to finish her own sentence.

_Wait. Linking suit environments is like that, and yet she'd be willing to do it with me? Does that mean what I think it does? _Shepard's smile turned into a subtle grin. "A moment ago you were about to say you trust me enough to link suit environments with…"

"I, I wasn't trying to—it's not always about the intimacy, I… I only meant…" Tali stopped her own nervous chatter, and thought carefully about what to say. "You… you mean a lot to me, Shepard. You rescued me back on the Citadel, and then you let me join your crew. You promised to give me that geth data. Yesterday you saved me from Saren again. You've always—you've been really good to me. I just… I care about you. A lot…"

Tali's hands were wringing together, and she stared downward at the ground; outward signs of her nervousness and embarrassment. She also felt very hot for reasons beyond the fever, and she could feel her heart pounding.

Suddenly, she felt Shepard's hands land on top of hers. They instantly stopped moving. Tali looked up at Shepard's eyes, and felt his hands slide into her palms. He gently held her hands.

Shepard looked at her with a relaxed, happy look and said, "Don't be embarrassed, Tali. I feel the same way about you. You mean a lot to me, and I…care…about you, too."

Tali's heart, which had been beating at a fast and heavy pace from her embarrassment, suddenly skipped a beat. Before she could consciously process his words—and all they entailed—she found herself squeezing his hands as her first reaction.

_Did he… did he just say that? _"Really? You… are you saying you're, um… interested, in me?"

Shepard stepped a little closer, and his smile widened. "You're amazing. How could I not be?"

Tali felt a flutter of butterflies in her stomach from his confirmation. "Oh Shepard, you don't know how much that… I've never—I'm just so… glad to hear that." She gripped his hands tighter.

They stood right in front of each other, close, holding hands. They simply stared at each other's eyes. Neither knew what else to say, but it didn't matter. There weren't any words necessary.

After a short while Tali finally said, "Well, I, uh… I should get back to work." She knew it wasn't urgent and that her work could wait, but she wanted some time to let her mind process what had just happened. She wanted to think about what all this meant.

Shepard understood the real reason she wanted to return to her work, and he felt the same way. He knew they both needed some time to themselves to let everything sink in. "That's fine… I have some things I need to do as well. Later on, why don't you come up to my quarters? So that we can talk some more. About… this."

"I'd like that."

. . .

Several hours had passed, and Shepard currently sat in his quarters, at the desk near his bed. He had his left hand on his chin, and held a small OSD in his right. For a while he had been staring at it, deep in thought as he moved it among his fingers, occasionally spinning it on his desk. It was the OSD that contained the geth data. It would be Tali's pilgrimage gift.

His conversation with Tali earlier had been on his mind all day. What will happen between the two of them? How well can a relationship between a human and a quarian work? And the question that bothered him the most: when—if—Saren is stopped, will Tali return back to her people?

Shepard didn't know the answer to any of these questions, and it made him feel unsettled. He wasn't accustomed to being in situations where he lacked so much information. It made him feel as if he was on a mission, lacking intelligence critical to its success.

Suddenly there was a light knock at his door, which instantly cleared his mind. He knew it was Tali, and that she had finally come to talk. The wait was over. He was eager to speak to her, but at the same time, he felt a light knot in his gut. The approaching conversation made him feel nervous.

"Come in."

The door opened and Tali stepped fourth. It closed behind her. Shepard placed the OSD on the desk, and swiveled his chair in her direction. Despite all his recent nervousness, seeing her familiar, beautiful and curvy body immediately brought relief to him. He felt happy as he looked at her, and regardless of his concerns, he was reassured of one thing: he wanted to be with her.

She walked forward nervously. It was obvious their talk earlier had been on her mind as well, and she had doubts and concerns of her own. She held her hands together as she approached, and finally stopped a few feet away, between him and the circular table in the middle of the room.

Shepard was the first to say something, "You don't need to knock to come in here, Tali." He smiled at her.

Tali didn't respond to it, but his friendly comment made her feel comfortable and welcomed.

"So… I noticed that the FTL drive kicked on a while ago," Tali mentioned awkwardly. It was her attempt to get a conversation going.

"We're heading back to the Citadel for a meeting with the Council and Ambassador Udina," Shepard responded.

There was a short period of awkward silence after his reply, neither sure of what else to say. Tali decided to finally bring up what they needed to talk about.

"I've thought a lot about our talk earlier…" she said with a light mumble, "And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought all that up and put you on the spot. I haven't really been myself with this fever—I was being stupid, and selfish."

"Selfish? Tali, you're the most unselfish person I've ever know. How can you say that?"

"Because…" Tali let out a depressed sigh, and then continued in a quiet voice, "It would be selfish of me to be with you. For several reasons. But above all, because you deserve to be happy. I… can't do that. There are so many other women that—Just, just look at me! I'm trapped in this damned suit, with this damned helmet on my head!" Tali gestured toward herself during her sudden outburst. "You wouldn't even be able look at my face any time you want! It's just not—you shouldn't have to…"

Tali stopped, and sighed again. She then continued, in a slow and solemn voice, "You deserve better than that—better than me. You deserve someone that can make you happy… someone you can enjoy, whenever you want." She hung her head low, as if in shame.

Shepard stood up from his chair and approached her with a brisk and determined step. He took her hands and stared right at her eyes; he knew exactly what he wanted to say. "You're right, I deserve to be happy. And that's exactly why I want you. _You_ make me happy. More than anyone I've ever known. Look, I know your immune system is weak, and a relationship with you will have its challenges. And you know what? I don't care. You're worth it, and I'll do whatever I have to, to make this work."

"I, I'd understand if you—but…" Tali tried to respond, but didn't really know what to say. She stopped, and just looked at Shepard's eyes. He gazed at her with all the sincerity an individual could have. Looking at his eyes, it became apparent to her that he had made up his mind. He truly wanted to be with her. "Thank you… you don't know much how that means to me… Just—thank you…"

Shepard's face had been tense with a determined expression as he spoke, but it relaxed as he heard her reply. A smile grew as he looked at her. The two quietly stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Tali suddenly threw her arms around him and hugged tightly. Shepard returned the gesture, placing his arms around her and embracing her.

They stood there, holding each other for a long time. This was a moment of great happiness for both of them. The feelings they had been harboring in their minds for what felt so long now, had finally been revealed to the other. And they were both accepting of each other. They both cared for each other, and wanted to be together.

But there was an unresolved issue. One that nagged in the back of Shepard's mind, preventing him from fully enjoying the moment. He imagined Tali felt it too. As much as he wanted to ignore it and just focus on the current happiness, he knew it had to be brought up. Perhaps it could be resolved right now, though it seemed unlikely.

"There's something I want to know," he said as he slowly pulled away from the hug. He kept his hands on her back.

"Yes?" Tali asked, her hands lightly holding unto Shepard's upper arms.

Shepard's smile disappeared, and his happiness faded. "The geth data I promised you—your pilgrimage gift—It's on my desk over there," he gestured with his head in its direction. He then asked, "What's going to happen after we stop Saren? What are you going to do?"

Tali felt a sudden knot in her stomach. Though she was aware that the topic was important, and unavoidable, she didn't want to think about it. She was going to have to make an impossibly difficult choice; one that would change her life.

"I… don't know. I don't know what I'll do. I want to stay here on the Normandy, with you. But it just doesn't feel right to not return to my people." She hesitated for a moment and asked, "What do you think I should do, Shepard?"

"This is your choice, Tali. I can't make it for you."

"I know. But I'd still like to know your thoughts."

Shepard thought briefly and said, "Do you remember on Virmire, when I said I didn't _want_ to give you the geth data? Well, this is the reason why. I want you to stay."

"It's what I want, too. It's what my heart tells me to do. But it feels so selfish; like I'm putting what I want over the good of my people. The flotilla has been my whole life until recently. I can't imagine what they would think back on the Fleet if I didn't return. What my father would think…"

"I understand if it _feels_ selfish, but don't forget; the work you're doing here is more important than anything any quarian has ever done. We're working to save countless trillions, the entire Migrant Fleet included. Even if we stop Saren, the reapers will still be out there somewhere. We'll need to make sure they can never threaten us again."

She thought over his words for a while and finally said, "Oh Shepard… I, I just don't know. The time I've spent here has been the greatest of my life, and I want to stay with you so much, but I keep picturing how angry my father would be—how disappointed my people would be; there's so much expected of me. We're such an insular people, and they wouldn't realize the significance of our work against the reapers." Tali's voice wavered as she spoke, as if close to tears. This choice felt impossible to her, and it made her very distressed.

Shepard observed her, and felt sympathetic. It bothered him to see her so upset. He positioned his arms so as to hug her, and she immediately accepted his intended gesture. She quickly wrapped her arms around him and hugged tightly.

Although Shepard wanted her to stay, and felt it was ultimately the right choice—not only for his sake, but for the sake of stopping the reapers—he above all wanted her to be happy. He couldn't imagine how difficult this decision was for her, and it saddened him to see her so troubled in what was supposed to be a time of happiness.

"You know what, Tali, let's not talk about this anymore right now. It may not even matter—if Saren succeeds, then there won't even be a choice for you to make." The prospect of all organic life being exterminated didn't seem like much of a comfort, but it gave them an excuse to avoid the topic. If only for a while. "We don't know what'll happen in the future, or how long we'll even be on this mission to stop Saren. Let's worry about it later when we know more. These things always have a way of working themselves out."

"Thank you…" Tali answered, very quietly.

After a short moment, Shepard let go of Tali and separated from their hug. He held her shoulders and smiled at her. "No matter what you choose, your people will still get that geth data. You'll be serving them either way, and I know how important that is for you."

Tali smiled weakly under her mask. Shepard then continued and said, "Speaking of which, let me get it. I did make a promise, after all." He walked over to his desk, grabbed the OSD, and then walked back.

"Thank you. My people—I—owe you a great debt. I wish I had some way to repay you."

"You already have, Tali."

She then reached forward to take the OSD, but Shepard suddenly pulled his hand away. He grinned at her with an amused look and said, "Don't you remember our talk on Virmire? You need take it by force, that way I don't get in trouble if anyone ever asks."

Tali laughed softly, which made Shepard very happy to hear; raising her spirits was what he intended. She then asked, "Come on, is this really necessary?"

"No. But it'll be fun. Now come, show me what you're made of."

Playing along, Tali placed her hands on her hips and said, "Oh, you think you're so tough, huh?"

"Well, I wouldn't bet against me."

Tali then quickly swiped forward, aiming for his hand in an attempt to snatch the OSD, but Shepard reacted quickly and pulled his hand back.

"Is that all you have? Come on little quarian, you'll have to do better than that," He playfully taunted.

"'Little quarian' huh? I'll show you what this 'little quarian' can do…" Tali retorted, and immediately leaped forward, pouncing on him. With her hands pushing against his upper body, Tali caused Shepard to stumble backwards and fall unto the bed. He landed on his back with Tali on top of him. As they fell, Tali managed to grab at his hand, and pull the OSD from it.

"Hah!" Tali said with a laugh, victorious over Shepard.

Shepard just laughed and said, "Well done."

"You should know better than to underestimate your opponent, _Commander_. Didn't they teach you that during your fancy N7 training?" she teased as she hovered over him. She slipped the OSD into a pocket.

"'All warfare is based on deception.' You may think you won, but in reality I'm the victor here."

"Is that so? How do you figure?"

"Because I have you, on top of me, in my bed…" he answered with a smirk.

"Keelah! You bosh'tet!" Tali embarrassingly exclaimed. She then attempted to get off him, but he just grabbed the sides of her waist and pulled her back down on him. They both laughed, and Tali stayed in place, not trying to get up again. She kept herself held up with her arms, and had one leg on each side of Shepard.

After staring at each other for a short while, Tali finally relaxed her body and lowered herself so that she lay on top of him. She rested her head on his chest, and stared off to the side. Although she wore a helmet, she was still able to hear his heartbeat thanks to its audio enhancements.

Shepard's hands were on her back, slowly moving up and down the length of her spine, caressing her. Tali closed her eyes for a moment, and softly exhaled as she imagined what it would be like to actually feel his fingertips on her bare skin. She hoped to find out, one day.

Several minutes passed with them lying together, with her on top of him. Neither said a word; they just enjoyed the feel of the other's body. There were no sounds beyond the noise made by the ship, and there was no movement beyond Shepard's hands caressing Tali's back. Finally, Shepard said something.

"Do you remember that night you slept here?"

Tali nodded her head in response, the side of her hooded helmet lightly rubbing against his chest.

Shepard continued, "Every time I offered after that, you insisted it wasn't necessary, and that you were sleeping well in your pod. Was that true, or were you just being polite?"

"I was just being polite at first, but after a while I did get use to the quiet. I really wanted to sleep here again, though. I just didn't want to take your bed from you."

"That's what I figured." He paused for a brief moment, and then added, "Why don't you stay here tonight? It's a big enough bed, we can share it."

Tali lifted her head from Shepard's chest and looked at him. She then reached with her hand, and gently placed it on his face, lightly caressing his cheek. "I would really like that."

Shepard looked lovingly at her, and then gently guided her off him with his hands. As soon as she was off his body, he moved up on the bed and oriented himself so that he lay along its length. Tali then crawled up and dropped down right next to him. A quiet, happy giggle escaped her mouth as she laid down with him.

Once Tali was in place, Shepard positioned his arm around her, and she instinctively cuddled in closely against his body. Her head rested on his shoulder, and she placed her arm on top of his torso, her hand on his chest. She began to tenderly stroke it, her index finger moving up and down the indented line in the center, which separated his pectorals.

"I've never been like this with somebody before. This is so nice…" whispered Tali. Shepard's only response was to give her a light squeeze with his arm.

Between the Normandy's noise in Shepard's quarters, and the blissful comfort of being cuddled in with him, it wasn't long before Tali felt her eyes getting heavy. The stroking gesture of her hand slowed down, and eventually stopped. She fell asleep.

It was the best sleep she had ever gotten.


	9. The Mission Can't Fail!

_**The Mission Can't Fail!**_

Shepard's eyes opened. The sudden trembling and impact noise of magnetic couplers attaching to the Normandy, which reverberated throughout the ship, had woken him. He knew that they had just docked at the Citadel.

He looked over at his side, where Tali still lay asleep in much the same position she was in before they had dozed off hours ago. Shepard could tell her eyes were closed from the lack of lightly glowing dots behind her mask. A slight shuffling was her only response to the Normandy's docking.

If it were possible, Shepard would have just gone back to sleep with her. But he knew that wasn't an option—he needed to see the Councilors and warn them about Saren heading to the Conduit on Ilos. Still, he took a moment to look at her before getting up. A involuntary smile appeared on his face as he watched over her, and decided not to wake her. She looked too relaxed and at peace for him to wake her up.

As he stood up, Tali shuffled more intensely than before, but the two dots behind her mask never appeared. She remained asleep as Shepard got up and walked out of his quarters.

. . .

Shepard stepped off the elevator in C-Sec Academy, pushing a four-wheeled flatbed cart. On top of the cart were two metal crates full of various weapons, ammo and weapon mods, and other assorted equipment. He proceeded to push the cart down the hallway that lead to the C-Sec Requisitions office.

"Commander Shepard, it's been a while. What's all this?" asked the turian requisitions officer from behind his desk as Shepard approached.

"During my travels I've salvaged a lot of gear. This is the stuff I don't need. I was hoping to sell them to you," answered Shepard as he parked the cart next to the desk.

The requisitions officer picked up one of the assault rifles from the crates and looked it over. He wasn't particularly scrutinous as he studied it; his only concern was that it wasn't a waste of his time. Satisfied with its quality, he put it down on his desk and momentarily glanced over the rest of the equipment.

"Not bad stuff, Commander. All this should be worth a small fortune. Just give me a moment to scan them into the system."

"How long will it take? I have a meeting scheduled with the Council in about forty minutes."

"Don't worry, it won't take nearly that long," the turian answered, beginning the process of scanning the equipment with his omni-tool.

It wasn't long before most of the larger equipment had gotten scanned, and the requisitions officer was scanning the smaller items that had shifted to the bottom of the crate. During his scans of the smaller items he pulled out an omni-tool. It was an old Bluewire model.

"Hah, this thing is _old_. You might be able to purchase a—what's that popular human drink? Coffee? With what it's worth," he amusingly commented, and held it up for Shepard to see.

Shepard immediately recognized it. It was the omni-tool Tali had been using when they first met. _She must have thrown it in with the spare equipment after I gave her a newer model._ "Actually, I'd like to hold on to that."

The turian found it unusual. _Why would he want to keep this piece of crap?_ he wondered to himself, but he wasn't curious enough to ask. He simply handed it to Shepard, who looked at it for a moment before smiling to himself and putting it in his pocket. The requisitions officer just kept scanning items.

. . .

During the meeting with the Councilors, Shepard had gotten betrayed. The Councilors refused to send any forces to Ilos to stop Saren, and Ambassador Udina made sure the Normandy got grounded, preventing them from leaving for Ilos to stop Saren themselves. Fortunately, it wasn't long before Captain Anderson spoke with Shepard, and proposed a plan to free the Normandy.

"Be ready, Anderson should be reaching Udina's office in about ten minutes," Shepard said as he stood behind Joker's seat at the Normandy's bridge. Both of them had their attention focused on the docking indicator of the console in front of Joker. It was currently red, which indicated they were locked in place. Upon turning green, it would mean that the Normandy is free, and they'd be able to escape the Citadel.

"Do you really think the Captain will get the Normandy unlocked?" asked Joker.

"If anyone can pull it off, it's him."

"I still can't believe Udina screwed us like that and grounded the Normandy. It's all bullshit."

"He's convinced that the reapers aren't real, just like the Councilors are. They believe Saren's threat is limited to just his influence over the geth. I almost wish that were true."

Joker didn't have anything to say. He just agreed with silence. There was a lull in their conversation, and during it he decided to kill some time—as well as get some information—knowing that several minutes remained before the Normandy would be potentially freed. "So, where's Tali?"

"She's down in Engineering, ensuring everything goes smoothly during our escape."

Joker smirked to himself. "You answered that _really_ easily. Would you be able to tell me what all the other crew members are doing right now, too?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing, Commander…"

A full minute passed with neither saying anything. Joker then abruptly asked, "So…what's she look like under that mask?"

Shepard sighed, and shook his head with a smirk on his face. He knew a question like that would pop up any moment. "I wouldn't know."

"You don't? Oh—I've heard about how much time you two spend being all buddy buddy, so I figured you guys had a thing going. Sorry."

"Oh, we do," Shepard answered in a nonchalant way, "I just haven't seen her face yet."

Joker turned his head around and looked at Shepard, surprised by his sudden and casual revelation. Shepard just kept staring straight ahead at the console with a very subtle smile on his face.

Suddenly the docking indicator shifted from red to green. The Normandy was now unlocked. "We're free! Get us out of here, now!" Shepard ordered, patting Joker's chair with his hand. Joker immediately turned his head back towards his console, and maneuvered the Normandy out of the docking area. In mere seconds, it was fully turned around and flying at top speed away from the Citadel.

"Great job, Joker," Shepard commended, and then turned around, proceeding to walk down the CIC. Joker turned his head back around, and watched him walking away. He smiled, happy for both him and Tali.

. . .

As Shepard sat at the desk next to the entrance of his quarters, the door suddenly opened and Tali stepped forth. Shepard looked up and saw her, greeting her only with a smile.

"So… now we're fugitives on the run? Never a dull moment with you, is there Shepard?" Tali said in a playful manner as she stepped close to him.

"There's an old saying: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Udina and the Council left us no choice."

"I understand, but stealing a ship?" Tali continued, now obviously teasing, "That's a capital offense among my people. What sort of man have I gotten myself involved with?"

Shepard grinned at Tali, and then reached forward and grabbed her waist. He pulled her down towards him, so that she sat down on his lap. Tali laughed quietly, and scooted in closely, leaning against him and placing her arms around his neck. Shepard then said in a lighthearted way, "Capital offense or not, I know you love the excitement."

"Who said I didn't?"

There was a quiet moment after her comment, in which the two just looked at each other, enjoying each other's presence. Tali broke the quiet by sighing softly and saying, "We're near the end, aren't we Shepard? It won't be long before we reach Ilos, where Saren is—where the Conduit is."

"Yes we are. I wish he didn't have such a head start."

"Don't be worried. I know you'll be able to stop him—you're the only who can."

"You were pretty close on Virmire," commented Shepard, and then added, "That reminds me. I want to show you something." He placed his hand on her side, and gently encouraged her off his lap. Once she was up, he stood up and walked over to the desk near his bed, where he grabbed an unusual looking weapon.

"Check this shotgun out, tell me what you think," he said as he returned back to her and held it out for her.

She took it, and began to eagerly look it over. The entire weapon was black and dark gray, with red indicator lights signifying it was disarmed. The design was unique, and it was unlike any other weapon Tali had seen before. It was also surprisingly light, but felt extremely solid and sturdy. The weapon was obviously made out of the finest materials, put together with extreme craftsmanship.

"Wow, this is amazing. The mass accelerator on this thing is massive for its size, and so is the heat sink," Tali noted as she continued moving it around in her hands, studying it from all angles. Just then she noticed the inscription on its side: 'HMWSG.' "I've never heard of this model before. I don't even know who manufactures it."

"That's because it's a prototype model, and only available to Spectres. These models are the most advanced weapons in the galaxy."

"Keelah, I envy you, Shepard. You're going to be a terror with this thing," she said and attempted to hand it back to him. Shepard didn't accept it—he just gently pushed it back toward her.

"I'm not, but you are. It's yours, Tali."

"What? Shepard I—thank you—but I can't accept this! Just how much did this cost?"

"You don't want to know… but don't worry about that. Shortly after we docked on the Citadel, I went to the requisitions officer in C-Sec and sold a bunch of the salvaged equipment we didn't need."

"I… I shouldn't—you take it, Shepard. You're the leader, and the best fighter. You should have the best weapon."

"I appreciate the thought, but I had enough credits to purchase a few of these Spectre weapons—including a _gorgeous_ assault rifle for myself. Now please, take the shotgun. I bought it specifically with you in mind."

Tali looked down at it for a moment, and back up at Shepard. She then placed it on the circular table, and approached Shepard. "Thank you… I've never received something so… extravagant before. It feels… strangely nice, having something so valuable and special."

"I know what you mean…" Shepard said with a light smirk as he placed his hands on Tali's lower back, and gently pulled her forward against him. Tali instinctively placed her hands on the sides of Shepard's arms, and looked at his eyes. She knew he was referring to her.

They stood there for a long time, simply staring at each other as their hands caressed the other. As the moment progressed, and Tali stared at Shepard eyes—his face—she realized she wanted nothing more than to feel his lips pressed against hers. She wanted her first kiss.

As if reading her mind, Shepard slowly asked, "So... what exactly would happen if you took off your mask…?"

"I would kiss you…"

Her voice was soft and relaxed, yet sultry. There was a very subtle, but noticeable hunger in her words. Shepard was surprised by her response, but glad to hear it; a slight chill ran down his spine.

"That sounds really nice… but it wasn't what I meant. Would you get sick?"

"There's really no way for me to know what would happen," she began to respond. "I already still have a reaction from my injury the other day. Maybe it won't make a difference… or maybe it'll get worse. I just don't know."

Shepard let out a loud sigh, and his hands on her body relaxed. He stared at her with a concerned expression on his face, until finally a weak, weary smile appeared.

"Part of me tells me to remove your mask, look upon your face for the first time, and kiss you. It tells me these could be our last moments alive, and that we should make the best of it. But I can't listen to that voice right now, Tali. The entire galaxy is riding on our success—I cannot let any of my actions be the result of pessimism; the possibility of failing cannot exist in my mind. I need to believe that we'll win.

"And besides that, you're already sick and we can't afford to risk your health any further. What if we're stuck fighting for days on Ilos, and your illness becomes an issue? What if we do succeed, but you die from a reaction? I can't—I don't want to think about that. We just can't do this now, without you being ready."

Tali looked at Shepard for a brief moment after his words. She then wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a tight hug. "You're right, Shepard. About everything. The entire galaxy is counting on us, and we can't let what we want risk this mission."

"We _will_ defeat Saren. And then when you're ready, we'll be together. I promise you that."


	10. I'll Wait Until You're Ready

_**I'll Wait Until You're Ready**_

"Go!" was Shepard's final word as a large fragment of Sovereign impacted his location at the top of Citadel Tower.

There was little movement and sound after the chaos of the impact had ended. The only movements were the flickering shadows cast by scattered flames, and the hovering clouds of smoke and dust. The crackling of fires were the only noises to be heard. What was once the heart of galactic civilization now lay in ruins—the very seat of the Council had been reduced to a mess of collapsed structures and debris of a now dead Reaper. Neither Shepard or his team could be seen or heard amidst the destruction.

Footsteps finally interrupted the eerie quiet that had dominated the top of Citadel Tower ever since the battle with Saren ended; since the impact of Sovereign's debris. It was Captain Anderson, leading a small team of rescue workers. They quickly began searching among the rubble for the team that had made Sovereign's defeat possible—for the ones responsible for effectively saving the galaxy.

Within a small pocket underneath some collapsed structure they found their first survivors. The first person that the rescue worker saw was a female quarian. His mind took a split second to process the fact that it was the first quarian he had ever seen, and based on their rarity it seemed unusual to find one in such a place. But none of that mattered right now—he took her arm and helped her up. At the same time, Captain Anderson crouched into the pocket and helped up another survivor, a turian whom he was acquainted with. Both survivors were somewhat disoriented from the impact, but alive and with no major injuries.

"Take it easy. It's over—you're safe now," assured Captain Anderson. There was clear joy in his voice over seeing them alive. Suddenly, he realized that Shepard was not among them. "Where's the Commander?"

His question instantly reminded Tali of the last image she remembered seeing: a rapidly approaching piece of Sovereign smashing into the large window near where Shepard had been standing. She turned her head to look in the direction of where the impact had occurred, and witnessed the horrific mess of mangled structure and piled debris where Shepard had been standing.

"He—he was over there! We have to find them!" Tali responded as she quickly scampered forth toward the ruins, momentarily losing balance at the start of her run.

The others could only stare at the large pile of rubble and wreckage with pessimism. It didn't seem possible for Shepard to have been able to survive what had impacted the area. Inwardly, Tali knew this too—it wasn't optimism that fueled her will to search, but denial.

Tali reached the concentration of rubble where Shepard had last been seen, and immediately felt overwhelmed. She didn't know where to start or what to do. Most of the debris was far too large and heavy for anyone to even move. She fidgeted trying to figure something out, her frustration rapidly escalating, until suddenly it evaporated and got replaced by desperation and depression. The grim reality that Shepard was likely dead began to sink in.

Tali dropped down to her knees, staring straight ahead at the immovable, mixed ruins of the Citadel's debris and the fragments of Sovereign. Her eyes began to water. "Please… please be alive, Shepard," she mumbled to herself. "I can't… lose you. Please…" Her head lowered down, which caused a tear to roll down her cheek.

Captain Anderson looked at her from where he stood, several meters back. He sighed, his mind also accepting the thought that Shepard had not survived.

Suddenly, there was a noise from beyond the rubble and wreckage—it was the unmistakable noise of debris being disturbed. Tali immediately looked up, and for a split second caught a glimpse of movement somewhere behind the rubble. She stood up and intensely scanned with her eyes, trying to look between any cracks or openings of the piled debris.

Shepard appeared near the top of the wreckage. His face covered in dust, his armor dented and scratched; but he was _standing_ there. He was alive.

As he looked on at the rescue workers and Anderson, at his living team—Tali particularly—all he could do was smile. His smile rapidly grew into a grin as he walked down a level part of the debris toward his friends, limping slightly from an injured leg.

The moment he reached the ground, he found himself and Tali tightly hugging each other, laughing with joy. Saren—and the Reapers—had been defeated. At least for now.

. . .

Shepard stepped out of Flux's male restroom and walked down the small hallway that lead back to the club. Stepping through the door, he reentered the restaurant area and maneuvered through the tables and chairs, making his way back to the table he had been sitting at with his team mates.

The popular club was in a different state than it normally would be. Its typical high energy dance music wasn't playing, the dance floor was devoid of people, and the entire club was nowhere near as crowded as it would have been just one week ago.

"Tali left while you were using the little Spectre's room," Garrus informed Shepard as he reached the table and sat down. He took a sip of the drink he held in his hand.

"That doesn't surprise me. She's seemed distant all night—probably felt alienated sitting here with us. She couldn't eat any of the food we ordered or even have any drinks."

"That does sound like it would suck," Ashley commented, joining in the conversation, "But it's not like we had anywhere else to go for our get-together before leaving tomorrow. This is the only place that's even open."

"Did Tali say anything before leaving?" Shepard asked the group.

"All she said was that she was going to go get some rest," answered Liara T'Soni. "It did seem as if she had something on her mind."

Shepard grabbed his drink, causing the ice in the glass to jingle in tandem with the movement of his hand, and finished what was left with one quick swallow. "Sounds like she headed back to the ship, then. I'm going to see what's troubling her. It's getting late, anyway," he said as he stood up from the table. "Remember, we leave at 1400 tomorrow. Goodnight everyone."

After the others said their goodbyes, Shepard walked away and left the club, eventually entering a ward of the Citadel.

A week had passed since the Battle of the Citadel, and things were noticeably different now. The Wards were nowhere near as crowded as they normally would be. The attack was still fresh on the minds of people, and fear still lingered within them. Most people stayed home, feeling safer in their dwellings. Many businesses were also still temporarily closed, and the continuous commute of people traveling to and from their jobs was nowhere to be seen.

The airspace of the citadel was different as well. Far fewer cars were traveling the airways, but the biggest difference was the lack of ship traffic. Civilians ships were all grounded, and no one was allowed to enter or leave the Citadel without proper authorization. The only ships to be seen were C-Sec patrol scouts, as well as Alliance cruisers and frigates. All actively patrolling and guarding the Citadel.

Throughout the five wards of the Citadel were tens of thousands of rescue workers and salvage teams, still actively clearing rubble caused by the attack. Many buildings had been destroyed, and debris from wrecked ships had rained all around the Citadel. Numerous bulldozers and other heavy machinery were continuously moving on the streets, still pushing and clearing rubble.

After a few minutes of walking Shepard reached his destination, C-Sec Academy, where the elevator that led to the Normandy's docking bay could be found. C-Sec Academy was eerily quiet and empty. Many officers had been killed during the attack, and all who remained were required to be out on patrol as much as possible.

The elevator took him up to the docking bay, and he approached the ship. He immediately noticed Tali. She stood near the end of the docking area, her hands on the rail as she leaned against it. Shepard couldn't tell if she was staring at the ship, or the view of the Wards below.

As he approached her, the line-of-sight between Shepard's eyes and Widow—the star near the Citadel—was disrupted by Tali's head. The intense light of the star shone through the opaque glass of Tali's faceplate, and Shepard saw a clear silhouette of her face from a profile perspective. It only lasted a second, but it was enough for Shepard's mind to create a clear visual memory. A small smile appeared on Shepard's face; an involuntary reaction.

"There's a nice view up here, isn't there?" Shepard commented as he approached and stood next to Tali, joining her. "I've never really taken the time to admire it." For a split second, Shepard felt déjà vu as he remembered the time they stared out at the setting sun on Virmire together.

"It was nicer before the attack. It's hard to imagine it's already been a week since that happened. These last several days have been crazy."

"This week really has been hectic. There was so much work to do, plus the interviews and questions just didn't stop. Things will get back to normal after we leave tomorrow to hunt down the remaining geth forces outside the Veil."

After his comment, Tali leaned away from the rail and looked right at him.

"There's something I've been wanting to tell you," she muttered. Shepard found himself unable to deduce from her tone of voice and body language if he should expect good or bad news.

"I had a feeling something was on your mind. Is something wrong, Tali?"

"Do you remember that night, when we told each other how we felt?"

"Of course," Shepard answered, smiling warmly at her. He stepped closer, and cautiously placed his hand on the side of her waist; her reaction to his gesture would give him a clue as what to expect.

Tali raised her hands and placed them on the sides of Shepard's shoulders, gently holding unto his arms. It was a positive reaction, and Shepard felt relieved.

"And do you remember… how you asked if I would go back and complete my pilgrimage, or stay with you on the Normandy, after we stopped Saren? And I couldn't choose at the time?"

Shepard's relief evaporated, and he felt knot in his stomach. It was obvious now—she had finally made a decision. While Shepard was anxious to find out what she had chosen, he couldn't help but feel nervous over the possibility that she might leave. "I take it you've decided?"

"Yes," she answered, staring into his eyes. "It's a very big decision, and I've thought about it a lot this week. And every time I did, I imagined what my people would say—how my father would react. It scared me to think about it. But I also thought about how the time I've spent with you has been the happiest of my life. There is no one back on the Fleet that makes me feel like you do.

"Putting my happiness above what's best for my people is a very selfish thing. No quarian should ever act like that. But that's not the case here—because I realized that staying with you, _is_ what's best for my people. I remembered how you said the work I'm doing with you to stop the Reapers is more important than anything any other quarian has ever done.

"And it's true. We did stop Sovereign, but the others are still out there, somewhere, and we need to make sure they can never threaten us. Maybe after seeing the Citadel attacked by a Reaper leading a fleet of geth, my people will understand my decision. And if they don't, it doesn't matter. I'm staying with you, Shepard. That's what I've chosen, and I know it's the right choice."

Shepard's face, which had been focused and tense at the start of Tali's words, had warmed and turned into a smile by the end. "I can't tell you how happy it makes me to hear that, Tali. But are you sure this is what you—"

Tali interrupted him by placing a finger on his lips. She got closer to him, and placed her hands on his upper back, so as to hold him close. "I'm sure."

Shepard silently laughed to himself in joy, and after a brief period of absorbing the happiness of the moment he asked, "I'm curious, what's going to happen with that geth data I gave you?"

"I still plan on giving it to my people. It's important that they get it. However, it's too much of a risk to send it over the extranet, so maybe next time we're on shore leave or whenever there's time, I'll book passage on another ship to deliver it and then come back."

"Book passage on another ship?" Shepard said in a playful tone of disbelief, with a smirk on his face, "Are you forgetting your boyfriend is the commanding officer of the galaxy's most advanced frigate?"

Tali laughed happily at his comment. Not only was she glad to hear him be willing to take her to the Fleet, she felt butterflies in her stomach from hearing Shepard refer to himself as her boyfriend. She had never been in a relationship with anyone, and relished being reminded that she was now in one. "I suppose you have a point, _Captain_ Shepard…"

"Thanks, but I, uh, actually never did reach that rank."

"You're the commanding officer of the Normandy. You're a Captain to me. My Captain, now…" Tali squeezed with her arms and gave him a hug. Shepard returned her embrace.

While they hugged, Shepard said, "When we have the time, I'll make sure we visit the Fleet so you can give them that data."

"Thank you. You know, you're going to be the first non-quarian to ever visit the flotilla." Tali commented as their hug ended.

"That hadn't occurred to me. Will they let an Alliance vessel near the Fleet?"

"Once I confirm it's me and that we're safe, they'll let us in. And besides, everyone's no doubt already heard about you and what you did here on the Citadel. I'm sure my people will be excited to have you there."

"This mission couldn't have been a success without you. I hope they'll be aware of that."

Tali smiled under her mask, and gave him another, quicker hug. After it ended, they held both their hands together as they looked at each other, until Tali finally said, "Let's go to our quarters. There's something else I want to tell you, Captain."

Shepard found her usage and emphasis of the word 'captain' unusual that time. But he responded with just a smile as they both began to walk toward the docking bridge connecting to the Normandy's airlock. They held hands as they walked.

It only took them a moment to walk through the Normandy and reach their quarters on the crew deck. After the door closed behind them, Shepard turned and faced Tali, curious about what she wanted to discuss. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

Tali took a deep breath, and after a few seconds of composing her thoughts she said, "It's customary among my people for us to offer a gift to the captain of a vessel whose crew we join."

Shepard immediately mentally prepared to tell her she didn't need to give him anything, but she continued talking before he could say anything.

"I don't have anything I can give you. However… there is something I want to share with you…" she said quietly, with faint nervousness in her words now. She got in very close, and whispered in a low, soft voice, "Myself…"

Shepard's eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. "Are… you saying you want to…?"

Tali nodded her head and said, "Yes, Shepard. I want us to… be together… I want you to see my face. I want to feel your skin on mine…"

"That really sounds wonderful, Tali. But what about your health?"

"There are ways I can temporarily improve my immune system; immuno-boosters, antibiotic injections, things like that. I don't really know right now, but I'll do some research. I just need some time to figure something out."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, Shepard—but you've already done so much. You've been so patient with me."

Shepard smiled at her and said, "You're worth it, Tali, and you always will be." He paused for a moment, and then added, "Whenever you're ready, I'll be here for you."

"I'll figure something out," Tali responded. "I promise."


	11. There Must be Options

_**There Must be Options**_

. . .

_Quarian and Human Relations_

_Note: This article is written assuming female quarian and male human. For the male quarian and female human version, navigate __HERE__._

_**Table of Contents**_

_- Introduction_

_- Dangers and Precautions _

_- Oral Sex_

_- Copulation _

_- Conclusion_

_**Introduction**_

_Between the debilitating immune systems shared by all known quarians, and the short period of time humans have been part of the galactic community, relations between quarians and humans are among the least documented interspecies romances._

_There are inherit biological obstacles to physical relations between the two species, the primary being the poor state of quarian immune systems, which may result in major illness or even death. Another major factor is the opposite amino-acid chirality of quarians (dextro) and humans (levo), though not to the extent of the quarian immune system handicap. _

_However, despite these obstacles, relationships between the two species are not only possible, but can be just as emotionally healthy as those of even their own races. There are major similarities between quarians and humans that allow for significant compatibility. Both species share similar physical structure, and sexual dimorphism between both their genders is nearly identical. Another factor is their fundamental biology; both species can be classified as placental mammals, share comparable lifespans, and neither race has some of the more exotic biology of other species, such as the natural biotic abilities of the asari or the redundant systems of the krogan. _

_**Dangers and Precautions**_

_As briefly mentioned in the previous section, the state of quarian immune systems renders sexual intimacy dangerous to the quarian. Even if proper precautions are taken, some degree of illness is likely and even death is a possibility. The two biggest factors that determine the severity of the quarian's reaction are the environment of the sexual activity and the adaptability of the quarian's personal immune system._

_Only two types of environments should be considered for sexual activity: a sterilized clean-room, which is the most optimal, or a controlled-air environment, such as the interior of a space-faring vessel. A clean room is optimal as it effectively eliminates the variable of the environment. A controlled-air environment can also be considered due to the greatly reduced amount of bacteria and pathogens. The life-support systems of space-faring vessels are perpetually filtering and cleaning the air, thus these are suitable controlled-air environments. A sealed personal environment with comparable air-filtering equipment can also be used. Any kind of public area or non-controlled environment should be avoided, due to the probability of high amounts of microbial matter from indeterminable sources._

_As significant a factor as the environment is, the personal immune system of the quarian is the single biggest factor. Unfortunately, it is also an unpredictable factor as it is impossible to predict its reaction without extensive and impractical prior lab tests. Antibiotics should be used to combat the foreign matter that gets introduced into the quarian's body. With a human partner, antibiotics that are specifically designed to combat levo amino-acid chirality bacteria are recommended. All Class Levo-HS antibiotics are effective, and specifically recommended ones are: Hemotaxim, Seropenem, and Democycline-2._

_Allergy medicine should also be considered. Since any viruses or bacteria present within the human partner are incapable of actually infecting another species of opposite amino-acid chirality, the biggest threat to the quarian is allergic reaction. Antibiotics help eliminate the foreign pathogens, thus reducing the allergic reaction duration and intensity. Since the immune system of the quarian is needlessly overreacting to foreign matter that their body is technically immune to, allergy medication can be used to lessen the reaction. While commonly used to treat allergies, steroids are not recommended as they work by weakening the immune system, and may cause undesirable side-effects. Certain herbal supplements can be used to safely temporarily pacify the immune system. _

_Note: Due to allergy medicine's tendency to work against the immune system, a quarian healthcare professional should be consulted to determine which supplements are most suitable, or if steroid-based allergy medication can be considered._

_**Oral Sex**_

_To both quarians and (to a greater extent) humans, use of the mouth to stimulate the partner's genitalia is a relatively common practice. However, it is generally not recommended for interspecies intimacy between both races for health reasons, though with proper precautions it can be safe, to an extent. _

_Oral sex performed on the female, known as cunnilingus, can be dangerous to both partners. The high bacterial content of the mouth may cause increased allergic reaction to the quarian. Use of antiseptic mouth rinse prior to performing cunnilingus is strongly recommended. Consumption of the vaginal lubrication produced by the quarian female during sexual arousal may cause an allergic reaction to the human. _

_Unlike cunnilingus, oral sex performed on the male, known as fellatio, is only dangerous to the quarian partner, as quarian saliva poses little to no danger to a healthy human unless ingested. While all fluids excreted by the human penis are effectively sterile (unless the human has a urinary tract infection), ingestion of seminal fluid may cause stomach cramps and allergic reactions to the quarian. Human semen contains fructose, which is safe for quarian consumption, but the levo-protein content of the spermatozoa is not compatible with the quarian digestive system._

_**Copulation**_

_As both quarians and humans share similar body structures, most sexual positions used by both species are compatible with each other. The most significant structural difference that's relevant to copulation is the differing lower legs of both species, which may cause some minor incompatibility. The lower leg of a human is less curved, so when standing on the knees weight is distributed among the tibia and fibula shin bones, whereas on a quarian the weight is concentrated almost entirely on the kneecaps. _

_These are some of the most common positions, but there are numerous others, all with multiple variations, so feel free to experiment with your partner to find what's most enjoyable and comfortable for both. _

_-The basic sex position for both races involves the male on top, penetrating forward. Known as the 'missionary position' among humans, this position is completely compatible with the physiology of both species, and the differing lower leg structure is not a factor._

_-Penetration from behind, in which is the female supports her torso horizontally by standing on her hands and knees, is another common position. However, the lower leg structure of quarians causes this position to put extra pressure on the knees, so a soft surface is recommended to avoid discomfort._

_-The receiver on top position is a position in which the male is on his back while the female is on top, perpendicular to the male's body. Like penetrating from behind, this position also puts weight on the female knees, so a soft surface is again recommended._

_During copulation, sexual protection is not necessary. Due to their differing biology, quarians and humans are immune to sexually transmitted diseases from either species. Pregnancy is also biologically impossible. Although ingestion of human seminal fluid is dangerous for a quarian, ejaculation within the vagina is reasonably safe. Since the body does not attempt to digest or extract nutrition from the seminal fluid as it would from ingestion, it goes largely ignored within the quarian's body. The spermatozoa pose no threat, and are eventually killed by the quarian's immune system (or die off on their own). Anything that remains of the seminal fluid ends up being flushed with bodily waste. Seminal fluid also contains no bacteria, unless the human has a urinary tract infection._

_Humans are generally a larger species than quarians. On average, humans are both taller and of a broader frame. As a result of the difference in size, in some extreme cases a female quarian may experience discomfort during intercourse from the male's—_

Tali turned off her omni-tool as the door to the room slid open and Shepard stepped inside, interrupting her reading.

It didn't matter; she had read the article, and others like it, numerous times already since she started her research just a few weeks ago. In addition to reading the very limited number of articles on the subject of quarian and human relations available, she had also anonymously contacted some doctors from the Migrant Fleet for advice. She had learned everything she could and finally felt ready. For the last several days, all she had been waiting for was for the Normandy to make a stop somewhere she could purchase the antibiotics and herbal supplements she needed.

Everything she learned, of course, was kept secret from Shepard. While he knew that she was doing research, Tali had decided that it would be a surprise. She liked to daydream about what it would be like; maybe after a long day, arduous day, or after a dangerous and thrilling mission, while they're relaxing together in their quarters, she would whisper in his ear that she had finished her research and was ready. Her mask would come off, and they would kiss right then—she could only imagine what kissing was like. He would then remove the suit, freeing her from the shell that was both her prison and her key to life, and then they would make love together. She'd finally experience the feeling of another's skin on hers.

"There you are," Shepard said as he came into their quarters, and saw Tali sitting at the circular table. "We're going to be docking at Elysium shortly, to pick up some supplies for the ship."

"Elysium? Isn't that the major human colony you saved all those years ago?" _Perfect! A big colony like that might have a place that sells the antibiotics and herbal supplements I need._

"Yeah, it is." Shepard said with some humility in his voice.

"I'm glad to hear we're stopping there, there are actually some things I need to buy for…" Tali stopped herself, remembering she didn't want him to know she had finished her research. It had to remain a surprise for him. "…for, uh… my suit. Supplies. You know, sometimes I need some materials for suit repair and maintenance."

"I understand. You can do that while I deal with the Alliance requisitions people for the Normandy supplies. Fortunately, we'll be docking near the market district, so I'm sure you'll find a place that sells what you need."

"I'll look up a place right now," Tali said as she reopened the extranet browser of her omni-tool, quickly navigating away from the article of quarian and human relations.

. . .

Tali stood in the market district of Elysium, looking at her omni-tool. She looked up at the sign of the store in front of her, and turned off her omni-tool's display as she lowered her arm. "This is the place," she said to herself as she walked to its door and stepped inside.

She approached the counter of the small store, where an asari shopkeeper stood; nobody else was in the store. Although Elysium was a human colony, Tali had noticed since arriving that there was a significant population of non-humans as well. At this point, it was no surprise to her to see a non-human shopkeeper. The asari looked well advanced in years—she was either near the end of her matron stage, or at the start of her matriarch stage.

"Hello dear, is there something I can help you find?" asked the asari with a smile as Tali approached the counter. Her friendly greeting was a pleasant surprise to Tali, who typically expected shop owners to be mistrusting toward quarians.

"Yes. I need to pick up some antibiotics, as well as some herbal supplements. I have a list of what I need here on my omni-tool," replied Tali as she typed into her omni-tool, fumbling slightly from some nervousness due to the nature of her purchase. After bringing up the list, she pressed an option on her omni-tool which reversed its holographic display, so that the asari could easily see the short list of complicated medical names.

The asari read it briefly, and her eyes looked up from the omni-tool straight at Tali's mask. She smiled, and asked, "Human boyfriend, huh?"

"What? Well, um—yes—but how did you, uh…" Tali stuttered out, completely caught off guard by the question.

The asari chuckled at Tali's embarrassment, cackling slightly. "Relax, dear. I've been selling health supplies since before your grandparents were born. It was just an educated guess."

"Oh, wow… so you've met other quarians that have had, um, relationships… with humans?"

"With a human? You're the first. Like I said; just a guess," the asari replied. She looked at Tali for a moment, and then asked, "Not that it's any of my business, but you seem pretty nervous about it—are you sure he's the right guy?"

A quick, slightly embarrassed laugh escaped Tali's mouth and she said, "He's definitely the right guy, trust me on that. I'm very lucky."

"Well, sounds like you really care for him then. I'll tell you what—I'll sell you these things on your list at discount."

"Really? Thank you—that's very kind," Tali responded. The friendliness of the gesture made her feel happier than the actual discount. She wasn't accustomed to ever being treated so well by store owners. "It's not often shopkeepers are so nice to quarians."

"I've lived many years. I learned long ago that people should be judged for who they are. Not what their race supposedly is. Look at the humans, for example. Since they showed up, they've had a reputation for being completely self-centered and headstrong, for trampling anyone who gets in the way of their goals."

"But humans sacrificed thousands to save the Council and the Citadel during the geth attack."

"Exactly. And I'm glad you bring that up. Have you heard of that famous human from the battle, Commander Shepard?"

Tali tried not to laugh at the asari's question. _Have I heard of him? He's only my boyfriend, and the reason I'm in this store, buying things to boost my immune system… _"Um… yes, I've heard of him…"

"He was well known on this colony even before his recent accomplishments. He saved us from a terrible pirate attack about seven years ago, the Skyllian Blitz. And you know what? I saw him in person—he helped not only humans, but non-humans as well, even the _batarian_ residents. He's obviously a person above petty racism."

"He certainly is…" Tali agreed, with a certain slyness in her voice. _I wonder if I should tell her. She probably wouldn't believe me anyway…_

"Anyway, dear, I've taken up enough of your time. Here, let me get your medicine," the asari said as she turned around and began to look through the array of shelves behind her, picking out a few small containers. She placed them in a small bag, which she put on the counter top in front of Tali. "It'll be forty-three credits."

Tali reached into one of her suit pockets, and pulled out a hundred-credit credit chit. The asari scanned it, leaving fifty-seven credits, and handed it back to Tali.

"Thanks again for the discount. Take care," Tali said as she grabbed the bag with one hand and put the chit back in her pocket with the other.

"Goodbye. Oh, and… _have fun_," the asari said slyly and with a smirk. Tali laughed quietly to herself, blushing slightly as she left the store.

Tali stepped back into the market district of the colony, walking toward the docking area where the Normandy was docked. She took a moment to admire the colony's busy market district as she walked. She felt happy and comfortable on this colony of Elysium. This particular area was very crowded, which reminded her to life on the flotilla.

In addition to the crowds, the entire colony felt welcoming. Despite being a human colony, half the population was made up of non-humans due to its critical location on an important trade route. This combination of diversity, and the fact that it was the oldest human colony, meant that most people were generally more tolerant of other races. There was also a certain amount of pride in her heart, knowing that a major event of Shepard's life had transpired there.

Tali was now in the docking area, and she approached the Normandy. She saw Shepard saying goodbye to some Alliance personnel, who had just finished resupplying and refueling the Normandy.

"Just in time, we're leaving shortly," Shepard said with a smile as he saw Tali approaching. He noticed the bag in her hand, and recalled that she had mentioned she wanted to pick up some supplies for her suit.

"I ran into a fan of yours while in the market district."

"That's why I'm anxious to go. It's always nice to meet a fan, but they haven't left me alone since we got here," Shepard said as they both entered the Normandy through its cargo ramp, which had been opened for the resupplying. Shepard placed his arm around her waist as they walked inside.

"I'm surprised they're not scared of you here," Tali commented.

"Why would they be?"

"I've seen how you are on missions. Who knows how many explosions you caused while defending this place."

"You're hilarious, Tali. Really. That's up there with that time you asked if my armor was in good condition on Noveria," Shepard said sarcastically, but he couldn't hide the amused grin on his face.

As they walked down the cargo area of the Normandy, approaching the elevator, the ramp door closed and locked behind them; the loud noise it made was a reminder that they were about to leave. "I liked this colony—Elysium. In some ways, it sort of reminded me of the flotilla. I wish we could have stayed longer."

"It's a nice place, even with the fans, but we need to check out those ship disappearances in the Amada system. I'm sure we'll come back again another time, though."

"There's something I'm curious about, what does the word 'Elysium' mean in your language? My translator doesn't have a word for it."

"It's from one of our ancient mythologies," Shepard answered. "It was the place where the souls of dead heroes went."

They both reached the elevator, and stepped inside.


	12. I Have to Go

_**I Have to Go**_

Tali had received her first envirosuit ten years ago, when she was just twelve years old. Though the material of the suit was pliant and flexible, it was still too large for her. It sagged slightly, and she had a few years worth of growing before it could be a comfortable and snug fit. She had received it at a slightly younger age than most; a reward for her good behavior and maturity.

Receiving an envirosuit was a major part of any quarian's life. It was the first step to becoming an adult. Despite the loss of all tactile response, and the feeling of being completely enclosed, ironically, the suit symbolized freedom. Wearing a suit meant that she was no longer restricted to sterile environments, and that she'd be free to travel anywhere she wished. Receiving the suit at adolescence was more about being mature enough to handle the responsibility of the freedom it entailed, than it was about being physically capable of wearing it.

Although the suit wasn't quite the right size for Tali yet, she had proven herself intelligent and mature enough to receive one before she was completely physically ready. That same age of twelve was also the last time anyone had ever seen her face.

Much like her father Rael'Zorah, Tali preferred to keep the suit on at all times. The added privacy was comforting, as was the peace of mind brought from its constant protection. It seemed both logical and practical to keep it on. Tali's mother, however—unlike her husband and daughter—avoided wearing her suit; she hated it. The feel of simple pleasures such as air pushing against her face as she walked, or unfiltered smells stimulating the olfactory sensors of her nose were emotionally important to her. _Life shouldn't always be about what's logical; that is what separates the organic from the synthetic,_ was her belief until an unfortunate outbreak aboard the Rayya claimed her life, as well as the lives of all other quarians who had been exposed to its air.

Tali lost her mother at the age of seventeen, and after the grief had settled, she began to feel conflicted over the fact that she always kept her suit on. On the one hand, the outbreak was a dramatic example of why suits should be kept on as much as possible; Tali's mother's decision to avoid wearing it cost her life. But on the other hand, Tali felt extreme remorse and regret that her mother had never seen her face since she was twelve. Tali's adult face had never been revealed to her mother, despite her occasional request to see the face of the woman her daughter was becoming. Tali following her logic, and keeping her suit on at all times, caused her mother to die without ever seeing her daughter's face as she grew through her teens.

In the years that followed her mother's passing, Tali came to understand her mother's belief that the logical should not completely replace the emotional, as her father believed and had imprinted in Tali's mind; there should be a balance. Tali found herself desiring to interact and converse with her father without their masks in the way, as her mother would have enjoyed; as their people had done for their entire existence before the Geth War. But Rael wouldn't have it. He refused to remove his mask. The death of his spouse only reaffirmed his belief that emotions should never triumph over logic. The suit should stay on as much as possible; it was pure logic.

For years, the only person Tali felt close enough to reveal her face to was a man who would scold her for doing so. Someone who couldn't just look at her face and admire the beautiful woman she had become, but harangue her about the foolishness of needlessly removing her mask and exposing herself to potential death. But now, ten years after donning her suit and sealing away her face, she had found someone who she not only loved enough to reveal her face to, but would appreciate the significance of the act. Tonight, after their duties were done and they were alone in their quarters, Tali would take her antibiotics and herbal supplements, and finally reveal her face—reveal all of herself—to Shepard.

Tali stood in the cargo area of the Normandy, in front of her opened locker. At the bottom of the locker lay the light body armor she wore over her suit on missions. There was also a small toolbox that contained materials and tools for suit repair. In the middle of the locker was a rack that held her weapons vertically. Her state-of-the-art Spectre shotgun, as well as her assault rifle, sniper rifle, and pistol all hung there. Tali wasn't fond of using assault rifles or sniper rifles, but Shepard insisted all squad members bring every type of weapon on missions—he wanted all of them to be able to adapt to whatever happened.

On the top shelf of her locker were a few personal possessions. A small holo emitter was on one side, which displayed an old holo of her father, mother, and herself; it had been taken a year before her mother's death, and the enjoyable day they had spent together as a family on one of the flotilla's few recreational ships was one of her fondest memories. On the other side were three small bottles; her antibiotics and two types of herbal supplements.

A few days had passed since she purchased them on the human colony of Elysium, but she had been too nervous to use them; too nervous to reveal herself to Shepard, and share herself with him. However, since then her excitement had been gaining ground, and today had finally triumphed over her nervousness. This was the third time this day she had come to her locker to look at the small bottles of her medication, and think about how their contents would allow her to experience one of the most significant events of her life. The thoughts of what it would be like were almost overwhelming. The intense fluttery sensation in her stomach as she thought about it almost made her feel weak.

"Just a few more hours," Tali whispered to herself in nervous excitement as she closed the door to her locker, and proceeded to walk back to Engineering.

Half way to the door, she was suddenly knocked off her feet as the Normandy violently shook. She fell forward, and instinctively curled her arms over her face as she oriented herself to land on her side; a technique taught to all quarians to protect their visor from cracking against a hard floor surface after a fall. It was better to have bruised ribs than to suffer open-air exposure from a damaged mask.

After a short while of being on the floor, recovering from the pain the fall had caused, she began to stand up, only to be knocked back down by another violent quaking of the ship. Her mind quickly ran over a hundred possible reasons for the Normandy to tremble so intensely, but the flashing red lights of the cargo bay—as well as her own common sense—told her what was happening: the Normandy was under attack.

_Stealth systems were engaged. I saw it. How could we be under attack_? She wondered to herself as she got up and hobbled toward the engineering area, still recovering from the pain of her falls. As soon as the door opened, she stopped in her tracks; the typical blue ambience that radiated from the drive core was nowhere to be seen. The drive core was offline, either seriously damaged or completely without power—either one meant no quick repair was possible. She contemplated if she should attempt to repair it, though it seemed implausible; it was far too big of a job to do during an attack. Still, she felt she had to do _something_.

The alarm to abandon the ship suddenly started to wail, which made her mind up for her. She turned around and limped over to her locker, swung the door open, and grabbed her shotgun. She didn't have time to put on her body armor, and she had a copy of the holo of her parents on her omni-tool. Even the medication she purchased was replaceable. But she needed a weapon; they could get boarded by the enemy, or maybe even face danger on a planet after evacuating. Having a weapon on her also gave her a feeling of confidence and security.

Tali reached the elevator along with a group of servicemen. The elevator struggled slightly as it ascended, briefly giving them all the fear that it might not reach the upper deck. Fortunately, it made it all the way up. As the door opened, Tali saw Ashley Williams, clad in her combat armor, escorting people to the escape pods. The entire crew deck was glowing red and orange as the light cast by the numerous fires illuminated the smoke in the area.

"Ashley, what's going on?" Tali asked, loud enough to be heard over the chaos of explosions and mechanical failures in the background.

"We're under attack! The Commander gave the order to abandon ship, get to an escape pod, quickly!"

"Where's Shepard? I'm not leaving without him!"

"I'm right here," was heard from Tali's left side, catching her by surprise. She quickly turned around and saw Shepard, also wearing his combat suit. "I need to get Joker, get in the escape pod with Ashley."

"No, I'm going to go with you. You might need help," Tali stated.

"Damn it Tali, I gave you an order! Get in the escape pod, now!" Shepard yelled in frustration. Immediately, he felt remorse over yelling at her like that. "Please…" he said in a gentler tone, yet still with a sense of urgency.

Tali stared at him for a second, before finally throwing her arms around him and giving him a quick, tight hug. She let go, and ran to the nearby escape pod. She looked over her shoulder, and saw Shepard run around the corner toward the stairs that lead to the Normandy's Command Information Center.

As Tali sat down in the escape pod, she pulled down a mechanical safety harness over her shoulders, securely locking her in place. A few more people entered the escape pod, and finally Ashley came in, closing the door behind her. She took her seat, and seconds later there was a suddenly jolt from the escape pod's thrusters initiating and launching the escape pod away from the dying Alliance frigate.

It wasn't long after the escape pod had taken off when Tali lifted her security harness and ran to the console at the front end of the escape pod. She activated a holographic projection that served as a window, allowing them to see outside the escape pod. She then adjusted the camera, so that it would look back at the Normandy, and zoomed in as much as possible.

Gasps and moans of shock filled the small escape pod as everyone saw the horrific image of the nearly destroyed Normandy. The entire hull over the CIC was gone, leaving only splintered metal beams sticking out. Pieces of debris were floating all around it, and small explosions could be seen erupting all over it. It was also stationary—its thrusters now completely out of power. The ship was on the brink of death.

Despite the tragedy and terror of the wreckage that was once her home, Tali ignored the sight. She had turned the holo viewer on for only one purpose: to see if an escape pod from the ship's bridge would fly away. Tali knew the layout of the ship, and since Shepard had gone to get Joker, it was obvious that they'd use that the escape pod just behind the ship's bridge to get away. Tali's eyes were fixed on the limited holographic detail that created the image of the Normandy's front most side, desperate to see a small dot flying away.

"Please, Shepard…" she mumbled softly and fearfully. No one else could hear her. "Get out… you need to make it. Please… get out of there…"

With each passing second, fear and desperation began to set in. For an infinitesimally small amount of time, she realized that this was just like how she felt after the Battle of the Citadel, the first time the possibility of Shepard being dead really struck her. Her body was tense, and her limbs trembled with anxiety.

She clenched her teeth and cringed in terror as another beam from the mysterious attacker struck the Normandy, splitting it in two. Almost on the brink of sobbing, sudden relief swept over her in an instant. There it was: a small metallic dot rapidly flying away from the Normandy's nose, leaving a faint blue tail behind it. The escape pod of the Normandy's bridge; Shepard and Joker had made it.

"Oh Keelah… Keelah se'lai. Keelah se'lai…" she whispered, panting for air. Grateful beyond words that her love had escaped. "I saw the CIC escape pod fly away!" she said out loud so everyone could hear, "Shepard and Joker got away."

There were sighs of relief from the others, but moments later another beam struck the Normandy. This one ended the ship's death throws, and finally put it out of its misery. The Normandy exploded in a brilliant flash, creating a fireball which quickly dissipated as the oxygen reserves from the ship were rapidly consumed. The Normandy was now gone, reduced to mere wreckage and debris.

Despite Tali's love of the Normandy, she didn't care. She was just glad Shepard made it out. Content he was alright, she walked over to her seat, still trembling, and only now realizing how hard her heart was pounding. After plopping down on her seat, she just breathed heavily so as to catch her breath and calm herself down.

A full minute passed. The escape pod was completely silent, no one sure of what to say. What could be said? In a moment their ship had been destroyed, friends and crewmembers had been killed. They were all still in shock, their minds trying to make sense of all that had just occurred. How the ship that survived facing the near invincible Sovereign could have been destroyed so easily was beyond any of them.

The quiet was interrupted by Ashley. "Looks like whoever attacked us is gone," she said as she raised her security harness and stood up, "I'm going to open communications with the other pods and create a list of survivors."

Tali was still recuperating from the suspense of the moment that had just ended, as Ashley began to type into the console at the front of the escape pod.

The escape pods of the Normandy were numbered numerically from the front of the ship to its rear. Ashley started her list with Escape Pod One; it was both first in the numerical order, and the escape pod Shepard and Joker had used.

"Escape Pod One, this is Chief Williams. I'm making a list of survivors. Who's in there with you guys?" Ashley asked into the communicator, in her mind speaking to both Shepard and Joker.

An unusually long period of time went by without a response. Just as Ashley was about ask again, Joker's voice was heard, eerily distant and somber. "Jeff Moreau," he said, ignoring the formality of including his _Flight Lieutenant_ title, "I'm the only one here. Shepard's gone. He got… spaced. He's gone…"

With that one sentence it felt as if Tali's entire body paused. As if her heart stopped beating and her mind stopped processing thoughts. Her life came to a pause. All the relief she had experienced a moment ago, came back like a colossal wave of water, smashing into her being with a thousand times more power than it had seemingly left with.

"No… no, no!" she yelled out, "No! He's not gone! H-he was wearing his combat suit! He can still be alive! We have to find him!" she screamed in denial.

Nobody in the escape pod knew what to say to her. They were all upset themselves to hear that their commander—and in many cases, friend—was gone. But none of them could experience the pain that Tali, the woman Shepard both loved and was loved by, felt at that moment.

The denial that fueled her first reaction to the news near instantly disappeared; replaced by realization. She realized that even with his combat suit, he couldn't have survived the explosion of the Normandy. Shepard was too small a being to survive the blast caused by an exploding frigate so close to him.

Tali began to sob bitterly. She had never cried harder in her life. For a moment she wanted to rip her mask off, and hold her face with her hands as the intensity of her weeping demanded. And part of her didn't her didn't care about the consequences of doing so. But a faint amount of logic held out against her emotional state, and she kept the mask on as she cried with her head tilted down. Her tears fell unto the glass visor, creating a small pool at the deepest part of her mask's curvature.

For the last several weeks leading up to this moment, she had experienced a joy unlike any other of her life. It was a joy she never imagined possible as she grew up on the flotilla, devoid of so many of life's simple pleasures. She considered herself the luckiest woman in the galaxy; she was the one that Shepard, the champion and savior of the entire galaxy, had chosen to be with. She would be the envy of trillions of women.

But now, as her mind and heart processed the fact that he was gone forever, a small yet bitter part deep in her mind wished she had never even met him, just so she could be spared the grief she now felt.


	13. I Wish Shepard Were Here

_**I Wish Shepard Were Here**_

Tali lay on a small, single-person sleeping pad with her hands resting on top of her stomach, fingers intertwined. She stared up at the bolted metallic plates that made up the ceiling of where she now lived: a cubicle within the crew deck of the Neema.

As standard for the Neema, her cubicle was composed of three steel walls, each one roughly ten feet long. Her cubicle was very lightly furnished, and completely undecorated; there were no tapestries or colored fabric on the walls, and the cubicle's entrance was devoid of any hanging cloth. The only furniture inside were her sleeping pad in one of the corners, a metal desk in the opposite corner, two metal chairs, and a vid screen on the rear wall. All of it was in there already when she moved in today.

All quarian ships had a trading deck; an area where quarians could leave items they no longer wanted or required, and pick up items they did need. Tali could go to the trading deck of the Neema to acquire the extra items and furnishings she would eventually need, but for the moment her mind was busy elsewhere. As she lay there on her sleeping pad, staring up at the ceiling in a numb emotional state, she thought about Shepard, and how she had lost him forever.

Only a few days ago, what was to be the happiest day of her life turned into the most tragic. The ship that was her home, the Normandy, was destroyed. And along with its destruction came the death of the man she loved. The hours she spent floating in space inside the escape pod, lamenting the loss of Shepard, were the worst of her life.

Eventually, in response to the distress beacon the Normandy sent out before its destruction, an Alliance ship appeared and rescued the survivors. They were taken to the Citadel, where they were all interviewed not only by the Alliance, but by C-Sec; after all, a Council Spectre had been killed. This mandated an official report to be filled out by C-Sec and presented to the Council.

Between the lack of a body, and the desire of both the Alliance and the Council to downplay Shepard's death, only a small, private ceremony was held in his remembrance on the Presidium. Tali was enraged at their attempt to downplay his death. As far as she was concerned, not only did they all owe him their lives, but he was a good, wonderful man who deserved so much better than their pathetic ceremony.

After the interviews for the investigation were conducted, and the funeral ceremony was over, it was time for the crew of the Normandy to say goodbye to each other and go their separate ways. The Alliance personnel were simply given new postings and transferred to other ships, while the non-Alliance members were given the choice of where to be taken. With Shepard gone, there was only once place for Tali to go: back to her lifelong home, the Migrant Fleet.

She had arrived at the Neema only a few hours ago, via a small shuttle provided to her, and presented its captain with the geth data Shepard had given to her as her pilgrimage gift. The captain gladly accepted her gift, and immediately welcomed her to his crew. Not only was he amazed by her gift, but the simple fact that she was Tali'Zorah—the quarian who helped take down Saren during the battle of the Citadel—was more than enough reason for him to want her aboard his ship.

As Tali lay in her cubicle, thinking about the recent events of her life, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she saw a figure appear at the uncovered entrance. She turned her head, and instantly recognized who it was based on her posture, and the pattern and style of the fabric adorning her envirosuit; it was Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay.

"Auntie Raan," Tali said as she got up from her sleeping pad, her voice a mixture of pleasant surprise and weariness. They approached each other and greeted with a hug. "You came to visit me."

"Tali'Zorah _vas Neema_, I'm so glad to see you," Raan greeted, "I apologize that I wasn't here for your gift presentation to the captain, but you alerted us of your return with such short notice!" Raan said apologetically, and then asked, "Was your father there, at least?"

Tali sighed and quietly said, "No. He wasn't."

"He had been looking forward to your return ever since you left. I'm sure he had a good reason."

"He always does."

There was a period of awkward silence after their brief exchange over her father's absence. Shala'Raan then changed the subject, "The Neema's captain assigned you your own living area? That is wonderful. You'll have so much space to yourself!" Raan commented as she looked around at the empty cubicle.

"It feels selfish to have my own room. I offered to share a living space with someone else, but he insisted."

"You deserve it. I heard about the gift you presented; no one has ever brought back anything that could prove to be so vital to our people. And you didn't even have to bring a gift! What you did at the Citadel was amazing. Everyone heard about how you were part of the team that stopped that turian leading the geth. We are all so proud of you."

Raan mentioning the Battle of the Citadel immediately conjured up images of Shepard from that day. Tali remembered how they ran up the outside of Citadel Tower. The entire sky above them was the vast grid of lights and moving dots that made up the cities that existed on the Citadel's Wards. And in the distance in front of them, was Sovereign. A massive, lumbering beast, with its tentacle-like arms slowly swaying in the weightlessness of space.

But there was no fear during that battle. Not with Shepard leading. On that particular day, he had fought through everything they encountered with the tenacity she thought only existed in stories and myths of ancient, legendary heroes. No matter how many geth troopers or tank-bred krogan warlords attacked them, Shepard outmatched them all in every way. And when Saren's flesh melted away, revealing a synthetic avatar under the control of Sovereign, Shepard was the only one in the squad who could consistently keep up with its blisteringly fast movements. The near infinite computing power of the Reaper's mind, calculating in nanoseconds the most effective actions and probable outcomes, was still defeated by him.

Tali blinked her eyes and cleared her thoughts. "Thank you…" she responded in a soft mutter; her melancholy very noticeable.

Since the moment they had greeted, Raan could tell something was wrong. Tali's typical positivity was completely absent; the strangeness of its absence augmented by the fact that this was supposed to be a happy time for her. Raan strongly suspected she knew the cause of Tali's depression, but she knew it would be best to ask. "You're not yourself, Tali. What's wrong?"

Tali didn't respond, unsure of how to answer. It was impossible to answer without explaining everything that had happened; how she had become involved in a relationship with a human during her pilgrimage. She had no idea how Raan would react to that.

"I heard about what happened to the human whose crew you were part of—the one with you on the Citadel. I heard that he passed," Raan commented.

"They never found his body. He… he could still be alive…"

Raan sighed and put her hand on Tali's shoulder, "Tali, you have spent your entire life among the stars. You know that when someone is lost to the void of space, their bodies are rarely found."

"I know… I just—I want for him to be alive so much…" A quick, soft gasp escaped Tali's mouth as she attempted to hold back her tears.

It was now completely obvious to Raan. He was more than just Tali's captain during her pilgrimage. And he was likely more than just her friend. "This human, he… meant a lot to you, didn't he?"

Tali didn't have words to respond with. She only nodded her head.

"You and him were… close?"

Tali nodded her head again, this time more intensely than before. She had been trying to keep herself from crying, but by the end of her nod she couldn't hold it in anymore. She started to quietly weep. Tali felt embarrassed, and partly afraid; Raan was the closest thing she had to a loving parent, and she was worried that Raan would show disapproval of her interspecies relationship. Tali lacked the strength to argue and defend her choice at the moment.

There was instant relief as Raan gently placed her hands on Tali's shoulders, and said in a soft, comforting voice, "I didn't know. I am so sorry, Tali. I'm so sorry for your loss."

Tali placed her arms around Raan, and they both hugged as Tali continued to cry, now more intensely. As she cried, all she could stutter out was, "I loved him so much…"

Raan sighed loudly, sad to see her so upset. She then thought carefully about what to say.

"I have known you since you were born, Tali. It pains me so much to see you this upset; to know you have lost somebody you cared for. I wish there were words I could say that would cure your sadness, but I know such words do not exist.

"So instead, I'll say what you already know; what you already learned long ago, when your mother passed away: the pain will eventually fade away by itself. Your heart will never fully heal—that is the risk of giving a piece of it to somebody else, there is a chance you'll never get it back—but it will heal enough.

"And a day will come in which thoughts of the one you lost won't bring sadness, but happiness. Happiness, as you think back to all the good times you spent with him; as you think back to what it was about him that made you love him so."

Tali sniffled quietly as her weeping began to end, and she whispered softly, "Thank you, Auntie. Thank you so much."

A short moment passed in silence. Although Raan knew Tali's sadness would remain for a long time, she also knew how Tali could at least be given some temporary relief. Raan walked over to one of the chairs and sat down. She gestured for Tali to sit on the other one and said, "Come. Tell me about him."

Tali walked over and stood in front of the available chair, "You want to know about him?"

"Of course I do, Tali! He was your first love. I want to know who he was, what kind of person he was, what it was about him that won your heart. Tell me everything."

A quick, quiet half-laugh escaped Tali's mouth and she sat down, holding her hands together, "I… I don't really know where to start. There was so much good about him. Shepard was so… he was an amazing person."

"Start where he started. Where was he born? What kind of family did he come from?"

"Shepard was born on the human home world."

"What is it called?" Raan interrupted, "I don't know much about humans; when I went on my own pilgrimage, they weren't even known to exist."

"Their home world is called Earth. He grew up in one of its cities, but he didn't have a family… he was an orphan. He had a really rough time when he was young—he never liked to talk about it."

"I can understand. It must have been difficult for him to live like that."

"It was. It took so long for him to tell me anything about his upbringing. He always liked to hear me tell him about life here on the flotilla, though."

"How was it that you two met?"

"Well… I'll spare you the details for now, but I got into some… trouble, on the Citadel. Some people were trying to, well, kill me. I got into a firefight with them, and then he came out of nowhere. He saved me."

"I don't know what's worse, the fact that people were trying to kill you, or that I'm not very surprised by that," Raan joked, ignoring the seriousness of her story for now. "But what an amazing way for two people to meet."

"I was so happy and excited when he accepted my offer to join his crew! I couldn't believe how amazing and advanced his ship was. It was a dream come true to serve on a ship like that," Tali said enthusiastically. Raan grinned under her mask; just as she expected, talking about Shepard and reliving memories of him were making Tali happy, and giving her relief from her mourning. If only for a little while.

"Oh Keelah… I just remembered how only a short time after I joined his ship," Tali continued her tale, "I yelled at his second-in-command, Pressly. I even called him a bosh'tet."

"Tali'Zorah! You insulted a commanding officer of a ship?" Raan said in a pretend disciplinary voice; it was obvious she was amused by the story.

"Well, he said some things he shouldn't have. But we patched things up. We even became friends." After a pause, Tali then said in a noticeably more somber voice, "He also died when our ship got attacked." She sighed.

"What did Shepard do after you yelled at this Pressly?" Raan asked, trying to keep Tali focused on remembering the times before she lost Shepard.

"Oh, I was terrified when I got called to his quarters. He had been really great to me since I met him, but I still didn't know him all that well at the time. I was so scared of what he'd say—I thought he was going to ask me to leave his ship."

"What happened?"

"He… he wasn't mad at all. He understood, and just wanted it to not happen again. I was so relieved at how he handled it."

Tali sighed happily during her recollection and added, "He was always like that; he always tried to handle problems with words first. And he was good at it, too," she suddenly laughed, "We had this krogan on our team. One time he was really angry—you know how krogan are when they're upset—and after only a few minutes of talking, Shepard got him to calm down."

"That is impressive. He must have been very eloquent."

"He really was."

Tali suddenly remembered another story she wanted to tell her, "Oh, here's something that was funny. Our ship had this ground vehicle called the Mako. It was designed for rapid deployment—it would be dropped from the ship at a high altitude, and then it used thrusters to slow its descent. However, Shepard never warned me that it got on the ground that way. So the first time I went riding in it, and I saw him drive us off the ship, and we started to plummet to the ground…"

"Oh no!" Raan laughed as she concluded how frightening it must have been for Tali.

Tali also laughed, "Once we were on the ground, I was pretty mad at him for not warning me. Although, looking back, it really was pretty funny."

"It sounds like you two had a lot of wonderful times together. I can see why you fell in love with him."

"Yes," Tali said in a somewhat distant tone; Raan's comment triggered a thought in her mind. After a short while, she added, "It's easy to see why I fell in love with him. But… I'll never really understand why he wanted me."

"What do you mean, Tali? You are a wonderful girl."

"Well, it's just that, he was so… he was wonderful, dashing, and famous. He could have had any woman he wanted; someone who wasn't a quarian, trapped in a suit. I just don't understand why he wanted… me. I can't think of any one thing about me, that would have made him want me."

"But that is a good thing," Raan said, and Tali looked at her, eager for an explanation, "How could a relationship work between you two if he only loved you for 'one thing'? He loved you for the person that you are; he saw through your suit, and fell in love with the wonderful girl under it. You two were meant to be together. It is that simple, Tali'Zorah."

"No, we weren't…" Tali's voice was one again ripe with sadness, and her eyes rapidly watered, "If we were, he'd still be—I, I wouldn't have lost him…" The tears in her eyes once again broke free, and she began to cry.

Raan sighed, realizing she should have picked her words better. "You didn't lose him, Tali. He was taken from you." Raan placed her hand on Tali's shoulder to give her some comfort, and decided to let Tali finish her crying; she needed to let it out, and mourn her lost love.

Tali wept for a short while longer, until she inhaled sharply a few times so as to stop herself. "I'm sorry," she mumbled quietly as she stopped, "I just miss him so much. It isn't fair… he was a good person, he deserves to be alive."

"It is regrettable how often those who deserve to live are the ones that perish before their time. But at least he will be remembered, and loved; he'll never truly be gone as long as you remember him." Raan was aware how fruitless her words would be in giving Tali solace, but it was all that she could say.

"Do you have a holo of him, at least?" Raan asked.

"Yes, on my omni-tool. I have a few."

"Why don't we go to the trading deck and look for a holo emitter, then? That way you can have his picture on your desk, at least. Your living space is in desperate need of some items, anyway—you don't even have curtains to cover the entry."

"I know I need some things… I just haven't felt like worrying about it now."

"Come on, Tali, let's go. Maybe it'll help you feel better."

"I don't really feel like it…" Tali said hesitantly.

"It'll do you good. It'll take your mind off your grief. When you were a child you loved to go to the trading deck and look through the many different items. I remember when you first got your suit… you spent so many hours looking for just the right cloth to decorate it how you wanted," Raan said fondly as she recalled the memories of Tali's youth. "I'm sure you'll spend even more time decorating your new home."

Tali sighed quietly in defeat, "I suppose I should… I need to at least get something to cover the entry. Some privacy would be nice."

"I'm glad you changed your mind. I'm sure it'll help you feel better. Let's go," Raan said as she stood up from her chair, and began to walk out of the cubicle.

Tali stood up as well and asked in a soft voice, "Auntie?"

"Yes?"

Tali was grateful for the time Raan had spent with her, and for all her kind words. She wanted to explain all that to her and thank her, but in the end all she found herself able to mutter was a mere "Thank you."

The two left Tali's cubicle, and walked together toward the elevator that would take them to the Neema's trading deck.

It would still be a long time before Tali's broken heart would heal, but she knew Raan was right. She needed to get her mind off the pain, and spending time acquiring some necessities for her living space would help; at least for now.

After all, this ten by ten foot living area aboard the Neema was her home now. And would likely remain so for the rest of her life.


	14. Two Years?

_**Two Years?**_

_It is almost night time at one of Earth's major cities, the buildings and streets glow with the dark blue ambience of twilight. Tali walks down one of its streets by herself, nobody else present in the area. There are low and medium-rise buildings to both her left and right, and staring straight ahead reveals yet another wall of buildings where the street terminates. The buildings are run-down and decrepit, and the alleys between them are filthy and covered in discarded trash. Though the city she walks within is a major metropolis, rich in both commerce and culture, this particular area is a place of poverty and crime. There is a constant, subtle roaring sound in the background: the urban noise produced by the city._

_Tali and Shepard now walk together, still in the slums of this city. They hold each other's hands; Tali's right with Shepard's left. They turn a corner, and enter another street; still, they are the only ones in the area. Shepard begins to point out locations as they walk, telling her of things that had happened here in his life; this is the city he was raised in. He has a story of something that happened for every place he points out. Some of them are funny, but most are tragic and sad. A short while passes, and he stops walking. He tells her that he doesn't want to be here anymore._

_The two of them now walk together on one of Virmire's coastlines. It is night time, and everything is dark; the sky above them black with millions of subtly twinkling pinhole dots. They walk along the coast, parallel to the naturally occurring wall of rocks that typically line Virmire's beaches. Droplets of water occasionally spray down on them as waves crash against the rocks. There is a constant, subtle roaring sound in the background: the noise of the ocean._

_Shepard begins to run, and Tali runs as well. They both laugh as they run together, having fun and enjoyment. Wanting to show off, Tali goes into a full sprint and passes Shepard. After a short while, she stops and turns around. Shepard is on the ground, lying face down. She approaches him, and flips him over. He is dead. _

_Tali continues walking down the coastline of Virmire, by herself. In the distance, the sun is slowly beginning to rise. The subtle roaring of the ocean continues._

"Arrival to Freedom's Progress in fifteen minutes."

Tali's eyes instantly opened as the VI alert message woke her. She was within a shuttle, sitting in the co-pilot's seat in the cockpit. Her second-in-command, Prazza, sat in the pilot's seat, attentively observing the ship's systems. The noise of the shuttle's drive core subtly roared in the background, permeating throughout the small quarian vessel.

During her dream, everything had been clear and made complete sense. But now, as it was analyzed by her conscious mind, it seemed as unusual and random as any other dream. The visual detail of the locations, and the stories Shepard told her as they walked in the city, were now fuzzy and muddled. She couldn't remember anything he had said; only the emotional responses to his childhood stories remained in her mind. Like dreams often are, this one had been a mishmash of imaginings and memories, merged together.

Having a dream about Shepard was somewhat of a pleasant surprise, even if it wasn't a happy one. During the time that followed his death two years ago, she had dreamt about him on an almost nightly basis. Although occasionally her dreams dealt with him being dead, in most of them he was alive and well. It was her subconscious' response to her desire of wanting him to still be alive. Or maybe it was just her mind in denial, refusing to accept that he was gone.

As the months passed after his death, the dreams of him became less and less common. Thoughts of him still appeared in her mind regularly, but for a long time now he no longer dominated her dreams. Dreams of him were now only as common as dreams of anybody else in her life. Her mind no longer favored him when it chose what to dream about.

This was not new to Tali. The same thing happened when her mother died. In the months after her mother's death, Tali frequently dreamt of her. Many times her mother was ill in the dreams—like she was in the days before her death—but she was alive, at least. And just like with dreams of Shepard now, they became less and less frequent as time passed, until the point where they became as rare as a dream of anybody else.

Just as Shala'Raan had told her—and part of her already knew, though it had given her no comfort at the time—she did heal from the pain of her loss. Since rejoining the flotilla, she became a productive crewmember of the Neema, and would often be chosen to be sent on special missions by the Migrant Fleet's Admiralty. For the last several months, she even had the special task of salvaging inactive geth parts for her father. She still longed to be closer to him on a personal level, but she was happy to at least have relationship with him at a professional level, assisting him with his research and work.

Although Shepard—and her time with him—would always be remembered and entitled to a special place in her mind, she had moved on. Her heart had healed sufficiently.

. . .

"You okay, Commander?" Cerberus operative Jacob Taylor asked to the man sitting in front of him: Commander Shepard.

Jacob, as well as senior Cerberus operative Miranda Lawson, sat together in the opposite row of seats from Shepard, aboard the human-manufactured Kodiak shuttle they currently rode on. The shuttle was traveling through space, thus relied on its own dim lighting to illuminate the interior. The glowing, orange scars on Shepard's face were particularly noticeable in the dimly lit ship.

For a long period of time now, Jacob had noticed Shepard seemed troubled. He had been quiet, staring blank-eyed seemingly into nothingness for most of the shuttle ride. Miranda had noticed it as well—before Jacob, in fact—but she decided not to inquire about it.

Shepard tilted his head up, and looked at Jacob's eyes for a brief moment. Shepard hadn't been staring into nothingness all this time, but at his reflection on the window. In the dim light of the shuttle, the reflection of his face could barely be seen; but the lines and dots of orange light emanating from his face were very noticeable, reflecting on the glass. Their color stood in stark contrast to numerous white dots of stars behind the window.

"I'm fine," he finally answered as his eyes broke contact with Jacob, and wandered back to the window. "It's only now starting to really sink in. That I've lost two years of my life. It's just… hard to wrap my head around that."

"I hear you. We'll arrive at Freedom's Progress shortly. Maybe some fresh air will help you feel better."

"Doubtful," Miranda chimed in, and then looked at Shepard so as to address him directly, "You've just experienced some mental stress. It's nothing an individual with your psychological profile can't cope with. You'll be fine, with time."

_Just some 'mental stress'? I lost two years of my fucking life._

Shepard didn't respond. He simply went back to concentrating on his reflection on the window.

Tali was on Shepard's mind, and had been, since he awoke. Among the last things he remembered was seeing her get in the escape pod, just before he ran up to the CIC of the dying Normandy. When he found himself awake in the space station where his body had been reconstructed, he was desperate for answers on what became of his crew; Tali specifically. Fortunately, when he met Jacob, he was able to find out what he most wanted to know: that Tali had survived the attack on the Normandy. Unfortunately, Jacob knew nothing else about what happened to her.

After they left the station where he had spent the last two years of his life in a comatose state, they reached another one of Cerberus' space stations. And he finally got to speak to the leader of the infamous, pro-human terrorist organization. The Illusive Man himself.

Just like with Jacob, Tali was among the first things Shepard asked the mysterious, grey-haired man with synthetic eyes about. Much to Shepard's regret, despite Cerberus' vast information network, the Illusive Man didn't have much information on what became of Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. All he was able to confirm to Shepard was that she was among those rescued, and that she had returned to the Migrant Fleet. What became of her life after rejoining her people was impossible for anyone to know.

Shepard didn't know how, but the Illusive Man was also aware that Tali and him had been romantically involved. Neither of them had ever revealed their relationship publicly, and only the crewmembers aboard the Normandy were aware that they were together. But apparently that was enough for Cerberus—for the Illusive Man—to learn of their relationship. The Illusive Man was a master of hiding his true thoughts and emotions as he spoke, but Shepard could tell the thought of him, a human, being romantically involved with an alien, disgusted Cerberus' leader.

Being the master manipulator that he was, the Illusive Man jumped at the chance to seal up this potential loose thread with Shepard. _"Whatever became of your former colleague,"_ he said to Shepard, _"She's almost certainly moved on with her life. It would be best for her, and you, if you didn't try to contact her."_

Though Shepard was aware of the Illusive Man's attempts to manipulate him, he couldn't deny that—just like all effective deceits, manipulations, and lies—his words had a core of truth. Tali would have indeed moved on. Should he really attempt to contact her? What good would it do, other than reopen an old, now-healed wound? Could he ask her to drop all in her life just to be with him, after he'd been gone for _two years_?

Shepard didn't know what he would do. Though from his perspective less than a day had passed since he last saw Tali, he missed her, and the thought of never seeing her again weighed heavily upon him. _She always made me happy, and brought me peace and comfort when I needed it most_, he thought to himself, _but those are selfish reasons to shatter the life she's no doubt settled into with her people. Hell, for all I know, she's already found another person to share her life with._

_Then again. How will she react if she finds out I'm alive, and haven't contacted her?_

A silence had fallen upon the shuttle since Shepard slipped into his thoughts. The silence was interrupted as he sighed loudly, and realized this was too stressful to think about now. He decided to think about something else, at least for now.

"Why exactly do my scars glow? I'm guessing from synthetic implants?" he asked the two Cerberus agents sitting across from him.

"Somewhat, but it's more complicated than that," Miranda began to explain. As the person in charge of the Lazarus Cell—the Cerberus group that brought Shepard back to life—she was well versed on how they had managed resurrect him. "We were originally going to simply reconstruct your dead tissue. The vacuum your body had been exposed to prevented significant decomposition, so it was doable. However, reconstructing your dead cells proved to be too costly and time-consuming, so we switched to bio-synthetic fusion for most of your body."

"Bio-synthetic fusion?"

"An umbrella term for the multiple synthetic technologies we used. Everything from standard medical synthetic implants, to reverse engineering the Reaper nanotechnology used to create husks."

"Wait a minute. _Reaper_ _technology_? You put _Reaper_ technology in me?"

"No. I said we used reverse engineered Reaper technology," Miranda responded coldly and nonchalantly, completely unfazed by Shepard's sudden concern. "Their technology is still far too advanced for us to replicate or even control, but by studying it we were able to create nanobots capable of replacing dead organic tissue with synthetic tissue. Much of your body's skeletal muscle is now synthetic muscle tissue, for example. It emits some light as it reacts to glucose and oxygen, and that's the primary reason your scars glow."

Shepard stared at the ground as he thought about her explanation briefly. A quick, scoffing laugh escaped his mouth as he began to shake his head. He looked up at the two and said, "A former Spectre, riddled with Reaper-based synthetic implants," he sighed sharply, "Why does that sound so familiar?" The sarcasm in his voice did little to hide the fact that he was clearly troubled by what he had become.

_What would she think if she saw me like this? If she knew that so much of my body wasn't even real flesh? Synthetic life doomed her race to wander the stars. And here I am—more synthetic than organic._

"So. Do I even count as human anymore?" Shepard asked with noticeable frustration, his face tensing up slightly, trying to suppress the rage—and disgust—that was beginning to boil within him.

"I don't know much about how you were brought back, but I do know that your mind wasn't tampered with at all. That's what really matters, right?" Jacob said, attempting to put Shepard's concerns at ease.

"Jacob's right. A quarter of all the resources we spent on you, went into reconstructing your brain, exactly as it was before your death. Your mind has no synthetics whatsoever," Miranda commented, supplementing Jacob's assurance with facts.

"Like I said back on the station, you're still you, Commander. Just with a few extra parts inside. And those extra parts make you a hell of a lot tougher than normal. I can't wait to see you in action against something tougher than security mechs," Jacob added.

Shepard thought about what they both said. Though he still felt troubled, and it would take some time to really come to terms with the fact that his being was now a hybrid of man and machine, it did bring him comfort to know that his mind, at least, was still human.

His thoughts over his humanity were suddenly interrupted as the shuttle began to shake and rumble loudly.

"We've entered the planet's atmosphere," Miranda informed, "We'll land in Freedom's Progress shortly."


	15. It's Me

_**It's Me**_

A UT-47 Kodiak shuttle flew over the now abandoned human colony of Freedom's Progress, quickly descending unto a clear area and landing. As its engines powered down, its side door opened and from it emerged Commander Shepard, leading Cerberus operatives Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor. It was their mission to investigate this colony, and discover why all the colonists had mysteriously vanished.

It was night time on the colony, and an unsettling, eerie sensation hung in its cool, dry air. It was strange to see a colony that looked so lived-in to be completely devoid of all signs of life. All the noises expected to be heard in such a populated area—the sounds of vehicles, the voices of friends and neighbors conversing—were completely absent. Aside from their own footsteps, the only noise that could be heard as Shepard and his team progressed through the colony was the low, subtle hum of the outdoor lights, which had been programmed by their now absent masters to automatically turn on upon nightfall.

It wasn't long before the quiet was suddenly replaced by the ferocious roaring of gunfire. Shepard and his team ran into a small group of security mechs, which—strangely—attacked them. It was unusual not only because they were human, but also because they hadn't done anything that would have registered as hostile action to a security mech's default programming.

The three well trained, experienced humans easily dispatched the security mechs, and continued in their search of the colony. At one point, they entered one of the trailer-sized housing units, and as they walked inside Shepard abruptly halted. He held his hand up, telling his team behind him to also stop.

"Looks like we may not be alone here," he said, nodding towards a few destroyed security mechs on the ground. Their bodies had holes and dents from standard mass accelerator weapons.

"Unlikely. We're the only ones that know this colony got attacked," Miranda refuted, and then continued so as to explain the presence of the destroyed security mechs, "These mechs were likely destroyed by whatever attacked these colonists."

Shepard stepped deeper into the room, slowly and carefully looking around for clues as to what destroyed the mechs. Miranda's explanation made sense, but his instincts told him something was off; and he had long learned to trust his instincts. Something on the ground suddenly caught his eye: a spent thermal clip. He walked over to it and picked it up. Since the rigid material of his hard-suit's gloves prevented any tactile sensation, he was unable to determine if it was still hot. He took off his helmet with his other hand and attached it to a small strip of fabric hanging from his suit's belt, letting it dangle from his waist. He then held the thermal clip close to his cheek.

"It's giving off heat. This thermal clip is fresh," he said as he turned and addressed the others. At the same time, he gently placed the clip on top of a nearby table; dropping it back on the ground would've created extra, unnecessary noise.

"How can that be? Nobody's supposed to know this place got hit, except us," Jacob said, instinctively tightening the grip on his heavy pistol.

"It could be anyone. Maybe even a remnant of whoever attacked this colony. It's likely they saw our shuttle and know we're here, so be on alert." Shepard turned back around, and continued to walk. This time more alert and at a steadier pace.

As they progressed further into the colony, they encountered other groups of destroyed security mechs, as well as more fresh thermal clips. At one point they crossed through the inside of another living unit, and as soon as they exited its rear entrance, they could hear nearby gunfire. It was coming from the area beyond the large, opened metal doorway a short distance away. Inside, a small group of quarians were engaging a massive YMIR Battle Mech; and losing.

"Quarians?" Shepard said in surprise.

"What are quarians doing here? You don't think they're responsible for the missing colonists, do you?" Jacob asked. It was obvious he wasn't very familiar with the race.

"No." Shepard instantly responded.

"It's highly unlikely," Miranda added, almost at the same time as Shepard's response. "Quarians tend to keep to themselves, and there have been no records of their fleet being anywhere near the attacked colonies."

"Either way, they're getting annihilated by that heavy mech. We have to help them," Shepard said.

"Why bother?" Miranda nonchalantly argued, "They're obviously only here to loot the colony. They're no use to us. We should take advantage of their distraction and move past the heavy mech."

For a second, Shepard gave her a mixed look of disappointment and anger. He then grabbed his helmet and put it back on as he ran toward the battle zone. Just before reaching the large entryway of the area, he observed that only a female quarian remained alive. She had just been pushed out from behind her cover by the concussive force of one of the mech's rockets, and it was just about to finish her off with a torrent from its assault cannons.

. . .

"Everyone hold up! We've got company," Tali'Zorah said as a shuttle roared overhead, and descended some distance away behind the various structures of the colony. Between the design of the shuttle, and the writing on its side, Tali recognized that it was of human origin, "Humans."

It was Prazza, however, who had noticed the gold and black symbol on the shuttle's side. "It had the Cerberus insignia on it! It's a Cerberus shuttle!" he exclaimed.

Over the last two years, quarians had grown to despise the Cerberus organization. Not only was their pro-humanity, anti-alien agenda enough to warrant hate from any non-human race, but their attack on the Migrant Fleet—which involved Cerberus operatives actually entering a flotilla ship, and shooting quarian civilians—felt like a very personal attack upon the quarian people. Since the three hundred years of their exile, no race, government, or pirate group had ever attacked the Migrant Fleet in such an intimate way. None of the races in the galaxy, as a whole, had more animosity toward Cerberus than the quarians.

"Orders, Miss Zorah?" one of the quarian marines asked, now that the shuttle's affiliation had been revealed.

Prazza immediately responded, "I say we ambush the Cerberus bastards."

"That's not your decision, Prazza," Tali said, agitated by Prazza's insubordination, "Our mission is to find Veetor, not engage Cerberus. We keep moving to Prazza's location. Everyone stay alert in case we run into them, but don't engage without my command."

Prazza couldn't stand the fact that both him and his squad had been put under the command of Tali'Zorah. As far as he was concerned, the only reason she had command was because she was some admiral's daughter. Even orders that he agreed with, he hated taking, simply out of principle.

He was on the brink of speaking out against her command, but he bit his tongue and did as told. The group continued moving forward in Veetor's direction. Along the way they encountered a few more groups of security mechs, which they dispatched without much difficulty. Eventually, the group of quarians reached a large set of steel doors. Scans showed that Veetor was just beyond.

"I'll open the doors," Prazza said as he approached the door control, preparing his omni-tool.

"Stop!" Tali instructed, looking down at her omni-tool. "According to my scans, Veetor is just beyond, but I'm also picking up something else. It's much larger than any of the security mechs we've encountered."

"And?"

"Veetor reprogrammed all of the colony's defenses to attack anyone on sight. We should go around and use a side-entrance. We can't just rush in there."

"Listen, _Zorah_," Prazza said defiantly. "In case you forgot, there are Cerberus members here. For all we know, they're aware that Veetor is here and have come to take him! We can't waste our time. We need to hurry!"

"No, _you_ listen, Prazza. I'm the one in command, and I gave you an order. If you can't follow orders, then just go wait on the ship!"

"You're only in charge because of your _daddy_. This is _my_ squad, and we don't need _you_ here. You can stay here and get killed by Cerberus if you want, but we're going in there, and we're going to finish this mission."

"Please, Prazza. Don't be an idiot," Tali responded, her voice heavier with concern than anger.

Prazza ignored her, and addressed the others, "All of you, get ready. I'm opening this door. We go in, grab Veetor, and then we leave." He punched a command into his omni-tool, and the large door before them opened.

Between the fact that Prazza had been their squad leader until this mission, and the concern of a potential encounter with Cerberus operatives, the entire quarian squad sided with Prazza, ignoring Tali's command. They all followed him inside, into the large open area encircled with modular living units.

Tali felt both vexed and betrayed. _They can get themselves killed if they want. I'm going to finish this mission, with or without them_, she thought to herself as she turned away so as to begin searching for an alternative way to reach Veetor. Suddenly, she heard gunfire, followed by a loud explosion.

Just as she turned her head toward the others, she saw two dead, limp quarian bodies tumble briefly on the ground; the explosion of a rocket had killed them. She then saw the source of the rocket.

A massive security mech emerged from the side of one of the living units, each of its footsteps causing vibrations on the ground as it walked. This was the first time Tali had ever seen a YMIR Heavy Mech, and it was a terrifying sight. It seemed as tall as a Geth Prime, but bulkier and more heavily armored. It was covered in plates of thick, bone-white armor, and it was obvious from the shots fired at it by the quarian squad that it was also very heavily shielded.

Watching the colossal killing machine unleash a torrent of automatic mass accelerator fire upon her own people was too much; Tali couldn't ignore them. Although the squad had betrayed and disobeyed her—and in doing so, inadvertently resulted in their current fight for survival—Tali was incapable of simply leaving them to their doom. Against her better judgment, she decided to help them.

It was instantly obvious that attempting to destroy the mech with her weapon would be unrealistic. It was far too well armored and shielded to be brought down by the tiny, sand-grain sized metal slugs launched by her shotgun. Only heavy weapons made sense against such an enemy, which the squad woefully lacked. The only solution would be to attempt to hack into its systems and either disable it or alter its programming to stop its attacks. Tali prepared her omni-tool and ran into the battle zone, taking cover behind some large metal crates, so as to be within hacking range.

Now close enough, she immediately began the process of trying to take control of its systems. The other quarians were engaging the heavy mech, which kept it distracted from attacking her, but she'd still frequently move her eyes away from the omni-tool and look at the mech, staying updated on its current actions. As she scanned its systems and attempted to break in, something she feared quickly became evident. Both its shields and heavy armor blocked much of the electromagnetic spectrum that her omni-tool was capable of transmitting data in, preventing her from properly hacking into it. As long as the shields and armor stayed up, she wouldn't be able to override most of its major systems.

_I can alter these systems here, which might give me some access to its shields. Then I may be able to drain them enough so I can hack into its power systems and disable it. _She raised her eyes once more, and saw the last remaining quarian of her squad die as he got ripped to pieces by the mech's heavy assault fire. Her time was now up. The mech, which was now maybe thirty feet away, oriented itself in Tali's direction and raised the arm that launched rockets.

There was a flash of light as it launched a rocket, and Tali jumped away from her cover just as it exploded behind her. She was just far enough to prevent injury from the rocket's blast radius, but its concussive force was still enough to send her rolling and tumbling on the ground a few extra feet. The chaos of the moment caused her shotgun to become unattached from her suit and bounce away, skittering on the concrete ground until it was far out of reach.

Tali lay on the ground, face down. She raised her head up and saw the mech. It stood there, gazing at her with its emotionless red optical sensor. It lifted its other arm, preparing to fire its automatic assault canon. It was impossible to run away in time, and there was no nearby cover. It was over, the mech had won. She realized that her life would now end.

As she looked on at her mechanical, emotionless killer, knowing this was the last moment of her life, Tali's fear suddenly and completely evaporated. She became aware of one simple, yet strange fact: she didn't care. Except for a brief moment two years ago, her entire life had been devoid of any real happiness or passion, and there was no indication that it would ever get better. Both Shepard and her mother would always be gone, she would never have the type of father she wanted, and her people would never return home.

There was once a time where she had hope for a better future. Hope that she would share her life with someone special. Hope that her people would get their planet back. Hope that she would one day live in her own house on the Homeworld, breathing its fresh air with no mask in the way. But with Shepard gone—with no one to share her life with, no one to stop the Reapers' inevitable return—all but a small spark of the once abundant hope she once had, became extinguished. And now, as she saw the inevitably of her life's end, that last spark of hope, what had kept her pushing forward all this time, suddenly disappeared.

And with that spark gone, all that was left was blackness. Life had no meaning; death didn't matter.

A single gunshot was heard, and the YMIR's shields flashed as they deflected the shot. But that one gunshot was enough to add a new entry to the YMIR's list of hostiles; one at a higher priority than the unarmed quarian on the ground before it. The mech began to turn to assess the new threat.

It took a second for Tali to register what had happened, but just then she saw the source of the mysterious attack upon the mech. A human male clad in heavy armor had entered the area, and was sprinting toward the mech; he was obviously one of the Cerberus operatives that had recently arrived. Tali was dumbfounded by the sight. Not only did it seem strange for such a heavily armored person to be moving so fast, she also couldn't understand his course of action. He was running _toward_ the colossal, indestructible mech, as if he intended to ram into it.

The mech completed its rotation, and was now facing its new target. Just a split second before it opened fire and unleashed a barrage of assault fire upon the mysterious, seemingly irrational human—who was now mere meters away, with no intent on slowing down—the human dropped to the ground, sliding feet-first under the mech. With little traction between the hard, ablative material of his armor and the concrete ground, he slid effortlessly underneath the mech, between its legs. Grabbing at the mech's heel to instantly halt his sliding, he jumped to his feet, now behind the mech, and clutched at one of the crevices of its mechanical back. He pulled himself up, and climbed up until he reached its shoulders.

It suddenly became clear what the human was doing; he was exploiting the heavy mech's only weaknesses, which were its slow speed and complete lack of maneuverability. Not only was he now on the inside of the mech's shields, which meant they couldn't deflect his attacks, the mech was utterly incapable of getting him off its back. Its arms couldn't maneuver enough to touch him, and its movements were far too slow to shake him off. All of the mech's defenses and power suddenly accounted for nothing.

With his left arm holding unto the heavy mech's head, the human pulled out his heavy pistol and shot it three times, point blank at its optic sensor. The tempered glass instantly cracked and fractured, and after the human discarded his pistol, he reached behind his back and grabbed a disc shaped object: a high explosive grenade. He clutched his hand around it, and with a loud grunt, punched into the mech's head through the damaged optic sensor. He pulled out his fist, leaving the grenade inside.

The human then turned and jumped away from the Mech, just as its head split open from the explosion; all the circuitry within utterly destroyed. He landed on the ground and rolled for a short distance before jumping up to his feet. The mech's self-destruct protocol initiated, and with an intense flash of light its entire body suddenly exploded. The explosion sent a shockwave of heated air outward from it, and even through the insulated material of her suit, Tali could feel it.

For a brief moment after the explosion, the human stood in place with his back to the smoldering wreckage of the mech. He finally turned around and walked in Tali's direction. As he approached her, she felt something very unusual.

Spending their lives inside suits that completely covered their appearance had long forced quarians to become adept at reading body language and recognizing body types. As the human approached her, Tali felt a sudden rush of déjà vu. His posture, his height, the subtle nuances of his body movements; they were all _eerily_ familiar to Tali. She could swear that she had seen this same human before.

The human suddenly stopped. Something on the ground caught his attention.

. . .

Shepard felt a powerful push as the shockwave of air from the exploding YMIR mech hit him from behind. It wasn't enough to cause him to lose balance, but it was noticeable, as was its heat. The entire back of his combat armor suddenly felt warm.

After taking a very brief moment to catch his breath, he turned and saw the last remaining quarian, still on the ground, a distance away. As he began to approach her to see if she was alright, she stood up, slowly and cautiously, keeping her eyes fixed on him. It was likely that his current affiliation with an anti-alien organization was enough to keep her distrustful of him, even though he had just saved her life.

As she got up and stood on her feet, Shepard felt a rush of déjà vu as he looked at her. Just like Tali, she had a stunningly beautiful and curvy body, accentuated by a snug enviro-suit. Unlike Tali, however, her suit was far more beautifully decorated. A long, single piece of purple fabric covered her head as a hood, leading to her upper back, then crossing along the front of her torso above her pelvis, before finally terminating as it wrapped around the middle of her thighs. Her suit was an absolute work of art.

While approaching the quarian, something on the ground caught his eye. He froze in place, completely in shock at what he saw: a black and dark-gray colored, HMWSG Spectre shotgun.

He stepped to it, kneeled down, and picked it up. As Shepard stared at it, he noticed it had been heavily modified. It was apparent that its internal heat sink had been removed, and in its place was installed a device that allowed it to use the now standard thermal clips.

"It was a gift," the female quarian a short distance away said, in a cautious voice; she was clearly aware of how odd it would seem for a quarian to possess a Spectre-exclusive weapon, even if it was an older model.

Shepard had never felt a bigger chill run up his spine in his life. It was Tali's voice. This female quarian he just saved, was Tali'Zorah. Shepard looked up from the shotgun, and simply stared at her in awe. As he looked, he also noticed that Miranda and Jacob were now entering the area. He raised his hand in their direction, signaling them to halt. Tali noticed his gesture, and looked in the direction he had raised his hand at. She tensed up slightly, seeing two more Cerberus agents.

As Shepard approached her, he carried the shotgun in both hands in a non-threatening way. He stopped a short distance in front of Tali, and held it out for her to take. As she took it, he said in a quiet voice, "I know. I was the one who gave it to you."

Tali had always been a reasonably strong willed woman, but for the first time in her life, she felt the sudden rush of lightheadedness before a faint. The words she just heard, and the voice she heard them in, told her something that was utterly impossible: this human was Shepard. She took a quick, nervous step back.

Shepard then reached up and removed his combat helmet. Instead of attaching it to his suit's belt, this time he let it drop to the ground. It hit the ground at the same time as Tali's shotgun. For the first time in his life, Shepard's eloquence had completely failed him; he had no idea what to say, as Tali stared at his now revealed face. All he could muster was a weary smile.

"S-Shepard…?" Tali asked, in utter shock at the ghost in front of her, "Is that—you're… alive…?"

"It's me, Tali."

Tali stared for a few more seconds in confusion and awe, her mind processing all the possible reasons for how Shepard, someone who had died two years ago, now stood before her. There was only one possible explanation. Only one thing made sense.

She suddenly threw her hands against Shepard's chest, pushing him as hard as she could. "You… you _bastard!_" she yelled with all the anger and rage her voice could carry, "You've been alive all this time? And you never contacted me? How—how could you treat me like that! Do you have any idea what I went through, thinking you were dead? I TRUSTED you! I… I _loved_ you!"

Tears began to roll down from Tali's eyes as she yelled. Not of sadness, nor of happiness, but of anger and distress. She couldn't believe Shepard had let her suffer so much; that he didn't care enough about her to tell her the truth in the two years she spent believing him to be gone. It felt like the biggest betrayal of her life.

"I _was_ dead!" Shepard immediately snapped in response. Tali's rage momentarily paused as she waited for him to elaborate. "When the Normandy got attacked, I _did_ die! But Cerberus recovered my body, and they spent the last two years bringing me back. I only regained consciousness today."

"But—how… They brought you back? How can that be possible…?"

"Look at my face, Tali," Shepard said in a calmer voice, as he stared determinately at Tali's eyes, "Look at my scars, see how they glow. Synthetic implants—they used a lot of them to bring me back. But I'm still the same person, and I'm telling you the truth."

Tali stared at his face, still confused and in shock. She then very slowly—cautiously—raised her hand, and lightly placed the tips of her fingers on his face. Her fingers stroked downwards, over the glowing scars. Though the material of her suit took away much of her sense of touch, she was just barely able to feel the inconsistency of his skin caused by the mysterious glowing, orange scars.

She retreated her hand, continuing to stare at him; at his eyes. The eyes that always told her the truth—eyes she had always trusted. All she could now mutter was a quiet and soft: "I'm… I'm sorry, that I yelled at you. I… I didn't know…"

Upon hearing Tali's words, Shepard felt a wave of relief wash over him. "It's okay," he said tenderly, "There was no way you could have known."

He then smiled at her. It was a smile Tali remembered well. The same, comforting smile that had always told her everything would be alright; that she didn't need to worry. The same smile she always saw on his face whenever he relieved any of her fears or concerns. It was the most pleasant thing she had seen in two years.

"I still can't believe…" she began to say in a voice of quiet awe, before suddenly exclaiming, "Oh Shepard, you… you're alive!" Tali's voice broke, and she began to cry.

Shepard opened his arms slightly, offering a hug. He would've wanted to simply wrap his arms around her and embrace her, but he decided it was best to give her the option. Seeing him back from the dead was obviously a tremendous shock to her still, and he needed to be careful with his actions.

Tali immediately accepted his gesture, and threw her arms around him as her cry of joy and happiness continued. They held each other tightly.

"You know how—" Tali sniffled, interrupting her own sentence, "…how when you're in a dream, and you tell yourself, 'this can't be really happening,' and that's when you wake up? I feel that so much now! But—but… I'm not waking up! This is real!" her crying intensified, and she sobbed loudly as they held each other.

Amid the joyous, emotional moment Shepard and Tali were sharing; as Shepard held Tali tightly while she cried with her helmet pressed down against his shoulder, Shepard just then noticed that both Miranda and Jacob were nowhere to be seen. He assumed they wandered off, continuing to look for clues of what happened to the colony; it seemed the most likely thing. But he really didn't care right now. For the first time in his military career, the mission could wait.

After a short while, they both pulled away from their hug, and looked at each other. They both began to laugh quietly as they stared at each other, the joy of the moment unable to be contained by mere smiles.

"What are you doing here, anyway? You didn't abduct these colonists, did you?" Shepard joked during their quiet, joyful laughs.

"Hah, no," Tali began to answer, still happily crying, though not as intensely as before. Shepard found it cute that she actually answered the question. She sniffled again, and continued "We came here to rescue a young quarian on his pilgrimage. He sent a distress call not that long ago—he's the one who reprogrammed these security mechs. But what about you? How did you end up here?"

"After I awoke, I spoke with Cerberus' leader. He believes the Reapers are behind these attacks on human colonies, and wanted me to come here and investigate."

Shepard's mentioning of Cerberus immediately made Tali feel disturbed, as she remembered the Cerberus shuttle that had brought him here; that it was Cerberus who brought him back. She didn't like hearing Shepard mention he was working with them. At all. And it greatly troubled her. "Cerberus… they're really the ones who brought you back? And you're taking orders from their leader? Does that mean you've—you haven't… joined them, have you, Shepard?"

The concern in Tali's voice was very noticeable. She had even backed away slightly as she asked her question. Seeing her concern, Shepard gave her a reassuring smile and said, "How could I possibly join an organization that hates non-humans, when someone I care so much about isn't a human? No, Tali, I haven't joined them, and I never will, regardless of what they did for me. I'm only working with them for now to stop these attacks on human colonies."

Greatly relieved, Tali sighed and said, "Good. I'm really glad to hear that."

A short while passed, and the moment was suddenly interrupted as they heard yelling coming from the other side of the area. It was Miranda and Jacob, walking out of one of the modular living units with a male quarian.

"N-No! No no no no! It's not safe out here! The monsters will get us! We have to hide! We have to go back inside!" the quarian fearfully yelled.

"That's Veetor! What are they doing?" Tali urgently said, and ran toward them. Shepard followed.

"Commander, we found out who's been attacking our colonies. You're not going to believe this," Jacob said as both Shepard and Tali reached them.

"While you were busy with your… reunion," Miranda said, eyeing Tali for a mere second," Jacob and I investigated the area. We found this quarian, who managed to piece together security footage of the attack. The Collectors are the ones responsible."

"Th-the monsters! That's why we have to hide, before they return!" Veetor exclaimed, still traumatized over what he had seen.

"The Collectors? I've heard of them… didn't think they actually existed," Shepard commented. "You said we have actual footage of the attack?"

"Yes, as well as various energy readings that the quarian got with his omni-tool," Miranda confirmed, and then added "Still, we should take him with us so he can be properly interviewed."

"What? No!" Tali immediately objected, "He's sick! He needs medical attention, not an interrogation!"

"We just want to ask him a few questions. He'll be returned to your people, unharmed," Jacob assured.

Tali immediately turned to Shepard and said, "Shepard, please—don't let them take Veetor. Take the footage and data he recorded, but let me take him back to the fleet so he can be treated."

Shepard took only a second to consider Tali's request, and then turned to the others and said, "Look at him, he's obviously traumatized. I doubt we can learn anything useful from him. He's already helped us tremendously by getting us footage and data of what happened. Veetor goes home."

"Very well, Commander," Miranda responded. Although she showed no real emotion over Shepard's decision, he could tell she wasn't particularly happy about it. "Regardless, we got what we came for. We should leave quickly before the Alliance shows up."

Shepard felt sadness as he was reminded that they had to go; he wanted to stay, and keep speaking to Tali. But he also knew Miranda was correct, and that it would be a mistake to stick around for long. "You two head back to the ship, I'll join you shortly."

"Just remember, the Illusive Man doesn't want us to be here longer than necessary," Miranda responded, indirectly asking Shepard to hurry up. She began to walk away in the direction of their shuttle, and Jacob followed her, but not before giving Shepard a quick salute.

Tali knew exactly why Shepard sent his team without him, and she followed suit, "Veetor," she said gently as she addressed the traumatized quarian, "Why don't you go back inside and gather your belongings? I'm going to take you back home to the fleet soon. Wait for me inside."

Veetor just nervously nodded his head, and quickly went back inside the structure. Shepard and Tali were once again alone.

After a brief moment of silence Shepard said, "I wish we had more time, we have some catching up to do—_I_ have catching up to do. There isn't anything for me to tell you about."

"I still can hardly believe that you're alive—that I'm actually talking to you," Tali said, her voice once again heavy with awe. She then sighed and added, "It was so hard… knowing I had l lost you forever."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." Although Shepard knew what happened wasn't his fault, and that there was nothing he could've, he still felt saddened, and somewhat responsible, for the grief Tali no doubt endured after he died.

"It wasn't your fault," she whispered quietly.

A short, quiet moment passed and Shepard said, "I know you've probably moved on and settled into a new life, but how about it; will you join me on my mission? I would really like to have Tali'Zorah nar Rayya at my side," Shepard ended his comment with a warm smile.

Tali laughed quietly, "I'm Tali'Zorah vas Neema now. I joined the Neema when I returned to my people."

"I take it that geth data helped you complete your pilgrimage then?" Shepard avoided bringing up how rejoining her people was a consequence of his death. He wanted this moment to be happy.

"Yes, it did. Thank you…"

"I'm glad; that means you didn't beat me up in vain when you took it," Shepard joked, and they both chuckled quietly. He then asked his question again, "Will you join me?"

"I… can't right now," Tali responded; Shepard felt a sudden surge of disappointment. "I want to, but I can't. I have a mission of my own I need to take care of first. It's very important."

"What is it?"

Tali hesitated for a brief moment, "It's against the rules for me to say, but we're alone, and you've always been someone I can trust. There's this old quarian colony called Haestrom. There's something unusual about the star it orbits, so the Admiralty is going to send me with a team to take readings from the planet's surface."

"It's an old quarian colony? Aren't all the former quarian colonies in geth space now?"

"Yes," Tali said pensively, "That should tell you how serious this is."

"Tali, that's suicide! No one ever returns from geth space!"

"Believe me, I know how dangerous it is. And that's why I can't leave this mission to somebody else. We're hoping that if we take a small force, we'll avoid detection long enough to take our readings and leave."

"When is this mission going to take place?"

"They haven't told me yet. I just know it'll be soon."

"Promise me that when you find out, you'll let me know. I want to help you."

"Shepard, I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't. It's something I need to do. You've been at my side for many of my missions. I have to repay the favor. Now please, promise me you'll contact me when you find out when you're going."

Tali stared at Shepard's eyes for a short while. She didn't want to drag him along on a potentially suicidal mission, but she remembered him well enough to know that he wasn't going to drop this. "I promise."

"Use my old Extranet address to contact me," Shepard said, content that she agreed.

There was another period of peaceful silence. Suddenly, an urgent message came through Shepard's communicator; it was Miranda. "We just got word that an Alliance scout is on its way. We have to leave soon, Commander."

"I'm on my way," Shepard responded. He looked at Tali and sighed, knowing it was finally time to part ways.

"We need to leave. An Alliance scout is heading this way. You should leave too."

"I understand. I'll get Veetor, then."

They looked at each other awkwardly, both of them unsure what was appropriate for their goodbye. Finally, Tali put her arms around Shepard and hugged him, "You owe me so many of these, you bosh'tet," she mumbled quietly.

With a squeeze, their hug ended, and they said their final goodbyes. As Shepard walked away, he pondered over everything that had occurred. Many of his concerns had been alleviated; he had reunited with Tali, and she showed no concern over his synthetic implants. And despite her anger at her initial belief that he had been alive all this time, she was now obviously overjoyed to see him again.

His meeting with Tali had gone well, but Shepard remained aware that their relationship was not the same as it was—from his perspective—just yesterday. It would take some time to rebuild. And that was fine with him.

_She's worth it, _he thought to himself as he walked, with a subtle smile on his face.


	16. Can You Join Me Now?

_**Can You Join Me Now?**_

"Tell me, Kelly, how would you like to do something really important? Something that could make all the difference in our mission to stop the Collectors?" Shepard asked from his command position in the Normandy SR-2's Command Information Center. His eyes remained glued to the holographic display before him that currently showed the planet he was scanning for resources.

Kelly laughed nervously from her nearby console, "You know I'm always eager to assist you Commander, but I'm not… qualified to operate the CO station controls," she responded, making no attempt to hide that she simply didn't want to participate in the arduous, repetitious task of probing for resources.

"Yeah, of course you're not," Shepard mumbled quietly, his eyes focused on the trembling, occasionally spiking scan lines of the planet scanning software.

"You should take a break. You've been scanning that planet for hours."

"We're still low on resources from upgrading our main guns yesterday. But you're right, I'll take a break soon."

Nearly two weeks had passed since Shepard was been given command of the Normandy SR-2, and things were finally starting to feel normal; like they did before the collector attack two years ago. The new Normandy was larger in size, had a built-in artificial intelligence, and was overall more advanced, but it bore many similarities to its predecessor, including its appearance and general layout. This familiarity helped Shepard a lot in getting over the sudden pause his life had taken.

It also helped him to see familiar faces around the ship. Seeing Helmsman Jeff "Joker" Moreau, Doctor Chakwas, and Garrus Vakarian on a daily basis almost made it feel like he was in the same place in his life as he was two years ago. Almost. And although the rest of the crew were people he didn't initially know, he found them all to be enjoyable, professional people; seemingly devoid of any significant xenophobia, which was something he originally feared knowing he had a Cerberus crew. Yeoman Kelly Chambers, engineers Gabriella "Gabby" Daniels and Kenneth Donnelly, Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner, and even the ship's artificial intelligence "EDI" were among the many crewmembers he was beginning to consider friends.

But despite how well everything was going on his new ship, with his new crew, there was still a significant piece missing. There was somebody else he wanted on the ship, and it would never feel like the old Normandy until she joined.

Shepard's message inbox had several messages from Tali'Zorah vas Neema. Since the night they reunited, which now felt so long ago, he made sure to keep in constant contact with her. He didn't go too deeply into any specific topics among their messages; he just typed what was sufficient to keep him on her mind; to remind her that he wanted her to be part of his life. He wanted to save as much as possible for in-person—he wanted to hear everything in her voice. Shepard had always loved her voice and the way she spoke. It had what he could only be describe as subtle, reverberating effect, as if it somehow echoed in her own throat. It sounded beautiful, exotic, and otherworldly; it sounded angelic.

Her voice wasn't the only reason he wanted to wait until they could speak in person before fully catching up and discussing more serious matters. Speaking to her in person would allow him to get a feel for what was going on through her mind in regards to him. They had a joyous reunion, but despite his own perception of the passage of time, he was well aware that two years had passed for Tali. Two years is a long time to spend believing a person to be dead. Shepard was smart enough to know he shouldn't expect their relationship to continue exactly where it had left off.

"You just received a new message at your private terminal, Commander," Kelly informed from her console. Shepard was glad to have an excuse to interrupt his resource scanning.

He walked down the ramp of the galaxy map's control station and stood before his console.

_From: ANONYMOUS_

_To: Commander Shepard_

_Subject: I promised_

_Where we watched a sun set together. _

There was more to the message, but everything below that single line of text was heavily encrypted, represented as an assortment of gibberish and random symbols. It needed an encryption key to be decrypted and become legible.

Shepard smiled. He instantly realized who the message was from, and what the encryption key was. He typed it out in the key field: _v-i-r-m-i-r-e_

The block of gibberish suddenly became legible, revealing longitudinal coordinates for the surface of the planet Haestrom, in the Dholen system. Also in the message was a time and date, written in Galactic Standard Time. It was obvious why Tali had gone through the effort of sending the message encrypted and anonymously—this was sensitive, classified mission-related information of the quarian military.

Shepard noticed that the date was for today, and the time was in just a few hours_. This is really short notice. I hope we can make it in time_, he thought to himself as he walked back up the ramp that led to the galaxy map, and plotted the new course.

"Joker," he said into his communicator, "I'm punching in a new location. I need you to get us there ASAP."

"Aye aye, Commander."

. . .

A small quarian scout ship flew through the Dholen system. Its path was simple: a straight line from the mass relay to the planet Haestrom. Its engines were offline, and had been for a while; it relied on its initial thrust of acceleration—and Newton's First Law of Motion—for its locomotion through space. Occasionally its thrusters would initiate in low-powered bursts for course correction, as it approached its destination.

Like most quarian ships, the shuttle was anything but modern. The metal plating that made up its interior walls had long lost its metallic luster, and various makeshift repairs were evident throughout its hull. The ship was older than any of its current passengers.

The passenger area of the ship, which made up the bulk of its mass, had two seats at the front; one on each side of the hallway entrance that led to the cockpit. Both seats were oriented to face back toward the other passengers. Along the length of each side wall was a row of ten seats, both sides facing the other. At the two seats up front sat Mission Leader Tali'Zorah and Squad Leader Kal'Reegar. In the rest of the seats were a squad of one dozen quarian marines, and three non-military, yet still armed, scientists. The lack of engine noise gave the shuttle an unsettling quiet, so many of them were conversing among themselves as they waited to arrive at their destination.

"Listen up everybody," Kal'Reegar said, instantly bringing all ongoing conversations to a halt, "We'll be arriving soon. You've all been briefed, so I expect all of you to understand your duties, but we're going to go over it again to make sure it sticks. This is a high-risk operation—you all need to be at your best.

"When we land, we're going to break up into two groups: the science team and the combat team. Myself, Gan, and Hodda will be the security escort of the science team. The rest of you will be in the combat team, under command of Ren.

"If we're lucky, we'll be able to finish and leave without encountering any geth. I don't expect us to have such luck. If we do engage the geth, it'll be the job of the combat team to keep the battle on the outer parts of the colony, away from the science team. They can't do their work if they're getting shot at. The science team must stay alive, Tali'Zorah specifically.

"You'll all need to keep the geth forces occupied as long as possible. If you start getting overwhelmed, you'll have no choice but to fall back into the colony where the various structures can provide better cover. In a worst case scenario, we'll all fall back to the fortified Observatory deep within the colony. Let's hope it doesn't come to that." To conclude his briefing, he asked, "Any questions?"

After a short moment of silence, one of the quarian marines spoke up. "I know we won't have any ship support, but why not? If this mission is so important that they're sending us into geth territory, why no air support?"

"For the same reason our engines are off and we're running low-emission," Tali said, answering the marine's question, "To avoid detection as long as possible. It's why we're using the smallest ship possible for this mission. This way we at least have a chance to avoid engaging any geth."

"Any other questions?" Reegar asked. After a few seconds of silence, he turned to Tali and said, "We're all ready, ma'am, and we'll be arriving soon. If there's anything you want to say to the team, now is the time."

Tali stood up and spoke, "I know many of you are unhappy about this mission. We've been sent into geth territory to collect data on some aging star. I wish I could tell you why the Admiralty considers this important enough to risk all our lives, but I don't know. All we can do is have faith that they know what's best, and that what we learn about this aging star will one day save lives. Everyone do your best and stay safe. Keelah se'lai."

"Keelah se'lai," responded the others in unison.

. . .

"Dropship! Take cover!"

Just after the warning, a bombardment was unleashed upon the combat team by a geth dropship as it flew over them in a swooping movement. Rocks and debris flew everywhere as the dirt ground erupted into a cloud of dust.

The quarian marines were all behind some ancient, low-height stone walls which they used as cover near the outskirt of the colony. Just as was planned, they were bunkered down a distance away from the science team, keeping the bulk of the battle from interfering with the research and data they were gathering. The geth were now pouring into the area, pushing against the quarian marines. There was even a Colossus among the geth, which proved nearly indestructible with its repair protocol. The quarians would have to fall back, deeper into the colony soon.

After the explosions of the bombardment, the world was a dark blur to combat team leader Sato'Ren. Still shell-shocked, he laid on his back on the ground; the shots being fired in the background sounded distant and muffled. As his vision returned, the first thing he noticed amid the blurry darkness of his vision was the intense, brightly glowing star in the sky. That star was why he was on this planet, leading a small team to defend against an overwhelming enemy force. That star was the reason they were all going to die.

Sato'Ren had always been a good soldier. He listened to his superiors and followed their orders, never questioning their command. He understood the important concept that as a mere soldier, he wasn't expected to properly see the big picture. Those who could see it were the leaders; the people in charge, who looked down from their safe haven, and made the decisions around it. He always had to believe they knew what was ultimately best, even if it meant soldiers like him were the ones forced to face the often-gruesome small picture.

He didn't understand why he was on this planet. He didn't understand why he had been sent to this terrible world guarded by the machines that nearly murdered their entire race. What could it possibly matter to the Admiralty that a star was aging quickly? It wasn't their star, and it likely never would be. Sato had always been ready to sacrifice his life if it was for the good of his people. He just couldn't understand how recording data of some dying star could ever possibly benefit the Migrant Fleet.

But that didn't matter. He was a good soldier, and he had always been aware that his leaders would one day require for him to contribute to the big picture by adding a dot to it; one painted with his own blood. Off in the distance behind the geth forces, the dropship was turning, preparing to come in again for another bombing sweep. The whole team would not survive another bombardment. He realized this was now the time for him to contribute that dot to the big picture, even if he didn't understand why it had to be done; why his life had to be sacrificed.

He jumped up to his feet and got behind cover, quickly yelling, "That dropship is coming again for another attack! Everyone get ready to fall back into the colony! I'm going to give you all covering fire!" He positioned himself with his assault rifle above their cover, and clenched his teeth, preparing to draw the attacks of the enemy so the others could escape and continue the mission.

But just as he was about to yell the command to retreat, and sacrifice himself, something amazing caught his eye.

An intense, blue beam sliced through the sky and impacted the incoming dropship. With a bright explosion, the dropship broke up into numerous pieces and large chunks, each with its edges glowing red hot from the intense heat of the beam. Bright orange, melted metal rained down from the destroyed dropship along with its numerous smoldering fragments, all impacting the ground behind the geth platoon.

The quarians, surprised and confused, all turned their heads and looked up to find the origin of the mysterious attack that had so easily destroyed the mightiest of their enemy. They heard it just before they saw it: a large frigate descended from the sky, the high-pitched roaring sound of its engines intensified as it approached. It finally stopped and hovered above them. The origin of this ship, and how it managed to arrive without its heat emissions being detected, was a complete mystery. But that didn't matter right now; it was here to help. It began to unleash hell upon the geth platoon.

The geth ground forces opened fire at the newly arrived enemy. Their attacks were futile; not only were its shields still up, the hull was far too thick to be affected by small weapon fire. The frigate oriented itself so its main guns pointed in their direction. Instead of a single beam like earlier, it fired several small bursts, each one causing massive destruction as it impacted the ground, sending plumes of dust erupting into the air; rocks and gravel flew in all directions. Geth troopers directly hit by the bright blue pulses were instantly disintegrated; the others near the points of impacts were destroyed by the shockwaves and intense heat. The Colossus was among those that suffered a direct hit. Its armor instantly failed, and its entire body was completely incinerated. The main gun of the frigate was unlike anything the quarians had ever seen; it struck with an indescribable amount of power and heat.

In conjunction with the main gun attacks, the GARDIAN laser turrets on the underside of the ship also attacked the geth forces. The lasers quickly focused on individual geth troopers, causing them to burst into pieces; the result of their bodies being rapidly superheated, causing all gases and moisture within them to expand. The geth bodies popped into several pieces which all sizzled from the lingering heat applied by the lasers.

In a short period of time the geth forces were nearly eradiated. The entire area had a cloud of dust looming over it from the heavy ordinance of the frigate. The gunfire coming from the geth forces was nearly gone. As the quarians looked on, several of them began to cheer as they watched their enemy being utterly devastated. And although Sato knew that the mysterious, yet welcomed, interloper likely saved all their lives, he couldn't ignore the strangeness of its presence. He contacted his superior officer to inform him.

"Squad Leader Reegar, do you copy?" He said into his communicator, loudly so as to be heard over roaring engines of the ship above.

"I'm here, what is it?"

"You won't believe this—there's a frigate here, and it's completely decimating the geth forces!"

"What? We weren't supposed to receive any air support. Our sensors haven't even detected any frigate-class ships in the area."

"I don't know what to tell you sir, but I'm looking right at it. It's hovering directly over us. We were just about to fall back when it destroyed the geth dropship, and it's currently wiping out their ground forces."

"Is it one of ours?"

"No sir. It's definitely alien."

"No one else is supposed to be here, but if they're taking out the geth, we can't really complain. I'll check with Tali'Zorah and see if she knows anything about this."

. . .

Deep within the colony, a distance away from the main group of marines, was the science team. It was a small group lead by Tali'Zorah, with an equally small marine escort led by Kal'Reegar. They were currently waiting for a core sample to be extracted from the hard, rocky ground beneath their feet. The intense solar energy from the dying sun in the sky had fried the machinery they brought with them. Tali remembered how Shepard had once improvised with mining equipment himself, and she was able to do something similar. With some long abandoned mining machines left there by their ancestors, they were able to keep progressing with their mission. The machinery growled loudly as it drilled into the ground.

Despite both the danger of being in geth space, and the urgency of her work, Tali still had to take a moment to absorb the fact that she stood on what was once a quarian colony. Haestrom was a place where many quarian ancestors had worked and lived, their heads uncovered and free. The sun of the once normal star would shine upon their skin, and the air of the planet would be unfiltered and raw in their lungs. When her people last walked upon the ground she now stood, they were a significant part of the galactic community; a race numbering in the billions, with a history of almost two thousand years of space travel. But now, that was all gone. This world served as a mere echo of her people's past.

All around her was something she thought she'd never see in person, something that almost felt like a paradox: quarian architecture. It was different than the architecture of other races. There were no sleek, curved, and elegant designs like would be seen among asari architecture. The buildings weren't superfluously fortified like krogan structures. And they didn't radiate the feeling of power and empire as often was the case with human designs. Instead, the architecture of her people was simple, practical, and efficient. She took pride in the work of her people, despite its simple nature; in her experience with engineering, simple designs and concepts always proved to be the most reliable.

Experiencing this colony first-hand often conjured up thoughts of what it would be like to return to her homeworld. Dwelling too long on the thought of returning to the planet that gave rise to her people could easily cause her eyes to moisten and tear. Her father had once promised to build her a house on their homeworld. Although her mind told her it was a silly promise, one that could never be kept, she completely ignored that voice in her head. It was a promise she kept close to her heart; one she wanted too much to come true.

The thought of having her own house almost made her feel guilty with indulgence. Separate rooms for sleeping and preparing food, private sanitation rooms, the ability to look out a window and see a sky; it all seemed so luxurious and indulgent, yet so wonderful. But even beyond all that was what having a house on the homeworld represented: the end of an almost unbearable punishment, for a mistake made long ago by people who had all perished.

_It could happen in my life-time_, she thought to herself. _If the geth are serving the Reapers, and with Shepard working to stop them, maybe the homeworld will be returned to my people. Somehow… _

A little smile appeared on Tali's face as she thought of both her homeworld and Shepard. It wasn't a new imagining, and it almost seemed silly to think about, but she couldn't prevent the image that appeared in her mind: the two of them one day living together on her planet. It was an old daydream, a remnant from the time they were together, yet she found herself hoping for it once again. If luck were a tangible resource, there wouldn't be enough of it in the galaxy to trade in for such a thing to happen; for the two to live together, in a house, on the quarian homeworld. It was just too impossible to ever happen. But dreams were free—she could imagine it and dream about it if she wanted. Her imagination could at least give her a taste of what it would be like.

"I can't believe this is working," one of the quarian scientists commented, completely derailing Tali's train of thought. He spoke loud enough to be heard over the noisy drilling. "Using some of the abandoned mining machinery to get these core samples was a great idea. I thought this mission was over when the sun fried our equipment."

"To be honest, it wasn't really my idea," Tali responded, also speaking loudly. "A good friend of mine did something similar a couple years back, with an abandoned mining laser."

_Shepard… I wish he were here. That he could see this amazing place with me._

Just then, she noticed Kal'Reegar approaching her location from his nearby security post. She could tell he had urgent news by his brisk, determined manner of walking.

"Is something wrong, Reegar?" she asked, addressing him.

"Yes… and no. The combat team has been engaging a platoon of geth—"

"How are they doing?" she interrupted to ask. She was genuinely concerned about them.

"They _were_ getting overwhelmed. In fact, they were just about to fall back when an unidentified frigate appeared and began to wipe out the geth forces," he answered. "What I don't understand is why the ship wasn't picked up by our sensors, or how they even knew we were here. Don't get me wrong, I'm not picky about help in getting those synthetic bastards off our backs, but none of this makes any sense."

Tali knew the exact answers to both of those questions. She knew it was Shepard who had arrived, and from their past extranet messages she had learned that he was in command of an advanced version of the Normandy, which explained why heat emissions weren't detected. But she couldn't tell Reegar any of that. Even though she knew Shepard was completely trustworthy, she was well aware that revealing the details of such an important mission—one assigned directly by the Admiralty—was absolutely forbidden. Reegar was a friend, and she knew he would understand why she revealed critical mission details to her former Captain, but it was best if he didn't know. That way, he wouldn't have to lie on his mission report.

"The ship must have stealth capabilities," Tali explained. "During my pilgrimage, I was crew of a ship with the ability to store its emissions in sinks throughout its hull. This ship that's helping us out must have the same ability."

"Come to think of it, I remember you mentioned something about that before. But I still don't understand how they knew we were here."

"That's a good question. My guess is that after the geth attack on the Citadel, the mass relays connecting to the Perseus Veil have been closely monitored. It's possible our ship was detected going in, and someone decided to follow us."

Reegar paused for a short while after her hypothetical explanation, clearly thinking it over. Finally he said, "That makes sense. I don't know who's crazy enough to jump into this hell with us, but I do know that they saved our lives. Like I told Ren, I'm not going to complain. I'm going back to my post; I'll keep you updated on the situation, ma'am." He turned around and walked back to his security post.

_Shepard's not crazy_, Tali thought to herself, continuing the conversation in her mind. She had a sly grin under her mask. _He's just very brave. The way he jumps head-first into fights is something I love about him. It's how we first met. _

_And just like when we met back on the Citadel, I intend to join his crew after this._


	17. I Want to be With You

_**I Want to be With You**_

The Kodiak shuttle broke through Haestrom's atmosphere and approached the Normandy, which was now in orbit around the planet. The Normandy had ascended to an orbital position shortly after neutralizing the geth, where it could keep better watch for geth dropships approaching the planet. Shepard and Tali were on the shuttle together, by themselves, sitting on opposite sides and facing each other.

After the Normandy's intervention and rescue of the quarian team, Shepard and his team had landed on the surface via the shuttle and made contact with them. They learned of Tali's location, and after a few minutes of walking, found her and the quarian science team.

All of the quarians were grateful for the assistance provided by Shepard and his ship. Between delays suffered from malfunctioning equipment and the geth attack, they knew the mission would have been a disaster if he hadn't arrived when he did. Still, many of them were curious how Shepard knew about their mission. Shepard's answer was both a lie and a true statement.

He told him that the organization sponsoring his current mission had learned about their mission on Haestrom through its own information network, and informed him so he could recruit Tali for his team. This was true; the Illusive Man did forward a dossier on Tali'Zorah, which informed him that she was on Haestrom. What Shepard didn't tell the quarians, was that he received the dossier at a late time, when he was already in the Dholen system, approaching Haestrom. No one knew that Shepard's timely arrival was thanks to Tali giving him specific details of the mission.

Since Tali and the other scientists still needed some more time to finish their data collection, Shepard let his team return to the ship while they waited. Shepard stayed on the planet with Tali and the other quarians. After they finally finished, Tali told the others that she was not going to go with them; she was going to join Shepard. The quarians departed with the data they came for, and the Normandy's shuttle was sent back to pick up Shepard and Tali.

The short trip had been strangely quiet thus far. Tali looked at Shepard as he sat across from her. He had a subtle smile on his face; he looked happy, relaxed, and content; he didn't need to say anything. Tali was also happy, and excited, to join his team. But at the same time, she felt nervous knowing she would be joining a mostly Cerberus crew. She felt comfort in knowing that Shepard was the one in charge; she remembered how the Cerberus people with him on Freedom's Progress followed his orders, and released Veetor at his command. Still, she didn't look forward to the eventual looks of distrust and hate that would no-doubt be on the faces of the Cerberus crewmembers as they looked at her.

From Tali's seat, which faced forward in the direction the shuttle traveled, she suddenly caught a glimpse of the Normandy. She leaned to her right so as to be at a better angle to view it. While on Haestrom, she wasn't able to see the Normandy from where she had been working, so this was the first time she saw it.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said your ship was an upgraded version of the Normandy. It looks amazing!" she said. "And Cerberus built it? Just how were they able to replicate it? I thought it was an Alliance prototype."

"My guess is that they somehow managed to acquire the original Normandy designs, but I don't know," he answered. "Cerberus has a lot of resources. More than I ever imagined. And it's frightening how vast their information network is."

"I know you need resources to stop the Reapers, but are you sure that Cerberus can be trusted? You remember the sick experiments we discovered they were conducting."

"I've grown to trust many of the crewmembers. They honestly weren't what I was expecting; it's almost like they don't even know they're in Cerberus. But Cerberus' leader—The Illusive Man—I don't trust _him_."

"Do you think he'll betray you?"

"Not for the time being. But sometime down the road, when I either stop being useful or just piss him off enough, I fully expect him to try something."

"You? Stop being useful? I can't see that happening," Tali said in a playful, teasing way. "But making him angry; that seems like something you would do."

Shepard grinned, silently laughing to himself. Her little teasing remarks were something he had missed a lot. It made him happy to hear one. After a short moment he said, "I've missed you. It seems… silly for me to say that—from my perspective it's only been a short time—but I have missed you a lot since we met back on Freedom's Progress."

Tali thought for a short while about how to respond. "I missed you too, Shepard. I'm really happy to be joining you again. It feels so much like old times." She paused for a brief moment, "You're the only reason I'm here, joining a Cerberus vessel."

There was somewhat of an awkward silence after her comment.

This was one of the times Shepard really wished she wasn't wearing a mask. He had always told himself he didn't really care what her face looked like. He knew quarians had a similar resemblance to humans; the biggest difference was the ears. _I fell for someone whose face I've never seen—so what her face looks like exactly, really doesn't matter_, is what he always thought. But this particular moment, he wanted to be able to look at her face; just so he could read her facial expressions, and better understand what was going through her mind. There were a lot of things he wanted to talk about, but being unable to read the subtle facial expressions a person involuntarily makes while speaking made him feel handicapped. It made him feel as if he were on a mission, ill prepared and lacking intel.

Suddenly, the view of space outside the window disappeared, replaced with the image of a metal hull. They realized they were now entering the Normandy's bay, which took care of the awkward moment, for now.

"Looks like we're here," Shepard said. "This ship is a lot larger than the original Normandy, with several more decks. Want me to show you around?"

"I'd like that."

. . .

Doctor Chakwas sat at her desk in the med-bay, killing time by reading from her private terminal. It had been a relatively uneventful day, aside from her earlier preparations of the med-bay, in case some injured quarians were brought to her. Ultimately, no one needed medical attention.

As the healthcare professional of the Normandy, she was required to tend to any medical emergencies at any point in the day, but she still served a regular shift like any other crewmember. During which, she would be inside the med-bay. Most of the time, she didn't have much to do, besides the occasional examination or minor treatment. Although her shift was currently over, she preferred to stay in the med-bay. It was a quiet and peaceful place. As far as she was concerned, the med-bay was her private quarters. In a short while, she would go get some sleep.

She heard the med-bay door open. Turning her head, she saw Shepard step inside.

"Hello, Commander. Is there something I can do for you?" she greeted as she swiveled her chair to face him.

"Good evening, doc," Shepard said as he approached. "I was wondering… do you have a moment? To talk?"

From the tone of Shepard's voice, it seemed as if he had something on his mind. He wasn't there for a typical friendly chat; something was bothering him. "Of course."

"Thanks. I have a lot on my mind, and I don't really know who else I could talk to about this," he said. Shepard didn't feel close enough to any of the Cerberus people to discuss what was on his mind with. It was going to be either Garrus, Joker, or Chakwas, and of those choices, Chakwas was by far the best option.

Shepard thought for a moment on how to start. With a sharp exhale, he sat down on the empty chair near Chakwas and faced her.

"It's about Tali," he finally said.

"Where is she, by the way? I haven't seen her since you were showing her around the ship earlier. It's wonderful to have her back onboard. I remember how close you two were."

"In sleeper pod seven," he muttered, then clarified, "She was tired, from her mission. She wanted to get some rest."

"Is everything alright, Commander? You seem troubled."

"I… I don't know," he said, "It feels weird to talk about this. I'm not very used to it—usually I'm the one who listens to other people's problems." He paused for a moment, then continued, "Since I woke up from my coma—or whatever I was in—I've missed her a lot. I thought I was finally wrapping my mind around the fact that I was gone for two years, but now that she's back on the ship, it's really hit me that I've really been gone that long."

"What do you mean?"

"She's… different, somewhat. Don't get me wrong, she's still the same great girl I remember, but there's… there's all these little things I notice. Everything from her voice to her personality; nothing major, but different enough to notice. She's older, more mature now. It's really sinking in that two years have passed; that she's lived these two years without me in her life. And I'm worried."

"About what?" she asked attentively. It was very unusual to see the Commander like this. He had always seemed so immovable; someone always unfazed by any emotional or mental stress.

"Worried… that she's moved on. She's here on this ship, and we've been getting along great so far, but it bothers me to know I can't do something as simple as walk up behind her and put my arms around her, like I use to," he explained. "A while ago when she asked for a sleeper pod to get some rest, it _really_ got to me—she used to sleep in my quarters! I know I shouldn't expect things to be like they were two years ago, but I can't seem to help it, and it's driving me insane. It makes me feel… weak. I don't know, I've just never been through anything like this before.

"I'm twenty-nine, or thirty-one—I don't even know how the fuck old I am anymore—I've known other girls in the past. But, damn it. Tali's the first one I've ever felt this way about. The first one that I've ever dreaded losing."

Shepard let out a loud sigh. Not only was he clearly troubled, it was obvious he felt embarrassed talking about all this. He simply wasn't someone accustomed to this type of thing.

Chakwas paid close attention as Shepard spoke. While she was primarily a healthcare specialist, she did have some training in psychology. And with that last statement of his, she had an epiphany. It suddenly became clear why Shepard felt so troubled now; why the thought of having lost Tali as someone who was more than just a friend bothered him so much.

Chakwas had read Shepard's psychological profile in the past, on the original Normandy. She was well aware that Shepard grew up without parents; without a family. That knowledge was a major contributor to what she just realized, but the other half of the equation appeared just now, as she heard him briefly mention past girlfriends.

In all the time they spent together, both now and on the original Normandy. In all their talks. In all the conversations she overheard as the crew ate together in the mess hall… Shepard had never once mentioned _anyone_ he knew from his past. He never brought up past friends, or even talked about girlfriends. It genuinely felt as if he had never even met anyone before he joined the original Normandy. To Chakwas' knowledge, Shepard had no real friends beyond the crew.

And that was what she realized; Shepard was someone who had never let anyone get close. He was always friendly and would often chat with others, but it was clear now that he had never really let anyone _in_. An upbringing devoid of any real emotional attachment had long resulted in him putting up a hard, carefully controlled outer shell, which prevented him from ever getting very close to anyone—to him, subconsciously, people were unreliable and potential betrayals. It was a defense mechanism; one that was necessary during his youth, and stuck with him well into his adult life.

But Tali had been the exception. He lowered his defenses for her, and let her in. The core of his being had for the first time experienced an actual, intimate, emotional connection with another person. The vast majority of people experience that type of connection during their youth, even if they don't realize it, with their parents or even siblings. But for Shepard, Tali was the first. And the thought of having lost her, greatly troubled him in a very deep way.

_It's strange, seeing him like this_, Chakwas thought to herself. _He's always seemed so invincible and indomitable; devoid of the weaknesses so often prevalent among people. And yet, it's evident now more than ever: despite everything he's done—everything he's capable of—he is, ultimately, just a man. A human being._

"Commander… I don't think I could ever quite imagine what you've been through, with losing two years of your life. But I understand your concern; your fear that you may have lost that special connection you shared with Tali'Zorah. Have you discussed any of this with her? It seems like you haven't, and it's something you need to do."

"I'm aware of that, and that's partly why I'm so bothered by this—I know I need to talk to her about it, but I'm—" Shepard sighed, hesitating before continuing, "...afraid. That she'll say no; that she's moved on.

"I've never felt this way before. I've never been afraid to discuss a problem, and try and solve it with words. It's just not like me. Damn I feel pathetic."

"You shouldn't. What you're experiencing is normal. It's healthy. It would be a greater concern if you didn't feel any fear. This just shows how much you care for her," Chakwas said. "Give her some time; get a better feel for what she's thinking. If you haven't talked to her about this, for all you know, she feels the same way as you do."

Despite Chakwas' comforting words, Shepard continued to feel awkward and embarrassed about all this. This conversation with her was ultimately futile; he already knew he simply needed to talk with Tali, and discuss this with her. But for the time being, he just needed someone to voice his concerns to. He needed an ear to vent to.

"You're right," Shepard finally said. "I just have to talk to her. Maybe in a few days, or something. When she's settled into the ship and I have a better feel for what's going on through her mind."

Shepard stood up from his chair, preparing to leave. "Thank you," he said, "For hearing me out. I do feel better, getting some of this off my chest. Thanks again, and have a good evening, doc."

"You too, Commander. And I'm sure everything will work out," Chakwas said as Shepard began to walk away.

"Commander," she called out just before he exited the med-bay. He turned around and looked at her, "Don't forget, she _is_ on the ship. She dropped everything going on her life to join us—to join _you_. You're the only reason she's here. I think that says a lot about how she feels."

Shepard smiled, and proceeded to exit the med-bay.

. . .

Shepard stood under the showerhead in his private bathroom, the hot water flowing down his body. His hand was up against the wall, and his head tilted downward. The water sprayed against his shoulder and the back of his neck. He had been in the shower longer than he normally would be. He wanted to enjoy the soothing feel of warmth pouring down his skin. It was relaxing, which was something he needed.

After finishing his shower, Shepard got dressed in some pants and an undershirt. It was late, so he intended to go to sleep soon. He turned off the light of his aquarium, which instantly deprived his quarters of the typical blue illumination it cast. Only the light of the lamp next to his bed remained, which he dimmed to about half. With a datapad in hand, he sat down on the comfortable chair to the left of his bed. He would go to sleep in a while, but for now, he felt like reading something.

Over the years, Shepard had spent much of his free time reading. He rarely read fiction; he preferred to study military texts and history. He had read many military treatises, books, manuals, guides… all covering the concepts of war, military, and strategy. It was all to make him a better leader and soldier. But tonight was different. He felt troubled, and wanted something to bring him peace, something to put his mind at ease.

He navigated through his datapad and found the book he wanted. It was his favorite piece of fiction, a novel over three-hundred years old: _Les Misérables_. It was a story of an ex-convict, Jean Valjean, who was shown mercy when he deserved none, and received a second chance at life; one that he did not squander. It was a tale that had long appealed to Shepard.

A while passed as Shepard read. Eventually, his eyes started to feel heavy, and he contemplated bookmarking the next page and turning off his datapad, so as to finally get some sleep.

Just then, there was a light knock at the door of his quarters. Shepard's sleepiness instantly disappeared.

"Come in," he said, his eyes focusing at the door, curious as to who was there. It was rare for anyone to come see him at his quarters, especially at this hour. Generally, if someone needed to talk to him, they would use the communicator.

The door opened, and into the dimly lit room stepped an instantly familiar figure. It was the person Shepard most wanted to be there. It was Tali.

She approached in a slow, somewhat cautious and nervous way. She briefly scanned the room as she walked toward Shepard. It was the first time she had seen it, but she kept her attention on him. She held her hands together as she approached.

Shepard was somewhat confused by her presence—she had gone to bed over two hours ago, and he was sure she would have been sleeping by now. But regardless, it made him very happy to see her. Even in the dim light, she looked beautiful in her snug enviro-suit, decorated by purple fabric elegantly wrapped around her body. The light from the lamp glinted on the shiny purple glass of her mask.

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted quietly, stopping several meters away from Shepard. "I'm not, um… disturbing you, am I?"

Shepard smiled. He stood up, and tossed his datapad aside where it landed on his bed. He stepped closer to Tali and said, "Not in the slightest. I'm happy to see you."

He gestured with his hand for her to sit on the nearby sectional couch. She did, and he sat down as well, in the section perpendicular to her.

"You couldn't fall asleep?" he asked.

"No. I'm tired, and I even feel sleepy, but I couldn't doze off," she responded. "I thought maybe if you weren't busy, we could… talk, a little. I always enjoyed spending time with you."

"I liked spending time with you too," Shepard said. "I should warn you, unlike on the old Normandy, this time my quarters are in pretty much the quietest part of the ship," he commented, in a slightly amused tone.

"I figured as much when you mentioned it was on the ship's top deck," Tali said. There was a brief moment of silence, and she added, "I should confess… the extra noise back on the original Normandy was comforting, sure, but... it wasn't the main reason I slept so well in your quarters." She sounded somewhat embarrassed by her confession.

Shepard smiled at her again; he was happy to hear her talk about their past times together. "If we're confessing things, I should confess something too," he said, "That first time I offered for you to sleep in my quarters, and I said it was just so you could get a good rest before that mission on Maji… well, it wasn't the only reason. I was fond of you, and just liked the idea of you resting in my quarters."

Tali giggled quietly and said, "I always thought it seemed a little too friendly of you." A short period of time passed, and Tali asked, "So, you… you really had feelings for me, at that time? That was only short time after I had joined the Normandy—well before we told each other how we felt."

"Yes," Shepard said. "Could you blame me? You're wonderful."

Tali sighed, and thought for a moment before finally saying, "You know, I never really understood what you saw in me… Someone like you—I just don't understand why you'd want to be with me instead of… well, anyone who isn't a quarian."

Shepard had never liked it when she brought this topic up. Tali implied that she wasn't good enough for him, or that there were others that could make him happier. Not only was it something he didn't agree with, but it actually made him angry.

"Tali, listen," he began to explain. "I fell in love with you because you made me happy. It's that simple."

"That's not really a reason."

"Yes_, it is_. It's the best reason there could be," he said. "It seems as if you believe there should be a very specific reason why I've always been so drawn to you, but there isn't. Instead, there's like a million little things about you that I like. In short—you've always just made me happy. You gave me peace."

There was a period of silence. Tali didn't know what to say. Shepard then broke the silence and continued, "Did I ever tell you about how the time right before I met you was the most stressful of my life?"

"No, you didn't—what was wrong?"

"A lot. Just a few days before we met, there was the attack on Eden Prime by the geth."

"Yes, I remember hearing of that."

"Eden Prime by itself was a horrific place—it was an absolute massacre. Civilian bodies everywhere. Husks impaled on dragon's teeth. Learning of Saren's betrayal. I even lost a team member under my command: a young corporal named Richard Jenkins. Up until that time, it was possibly the worst—and most bizarre—mission I had ever been on.

"But that wasn't all. Near the end of that mission, I encountered a prothean beacon; the one we were sent to recover in the first place. It touched my mind and filled it with… images so vivid and frightening, I can't even describe. The things I saw—people being slaughtered by machines. Flesh dripping down machinery and being fused with it. Those images… until the Reapers are stopped, those images will continue to haunt me.

"Then I met the Council. They didn't believe me; not about my visions, or about Saren. My Spectre candidacy was jeopardized. It even almost felt like I was being mocked by them. There I was, trying to warn them about the approaching storm, and they didn't believe me. I was powerless to do anything until I could prove Saren was responsible for Eden Prime—and how could I possibly prove his betrayal? I needed to hunt him down to prove what he was doing, but I couldn't go after him until I had proof. I felt trapped."

Shepard looked at Tali and a very small, weak smile appeared on his face. "And then I learn about a quarian who had evidence that implicated Saren. I found her, and from the first moment I spoke with her, all my fears and concerns instantly disappeared. Just like that." Shepard paused for a moment, and then asked, "Do you remember on Virmire, where I mentioned how you always managed to bring me peace and tranquility?"

Tali just nodded. She wouldn't dare disturb his talking with words of her own.

"Well, you've been like that for me since the very minute we met," he said, staring at her eyes. "You brought me peace when we met. And when we got close, you brought me happiness. More so than anyone I have ever known."

Shepard inhaled, and sighed sharply. It was time to say what he had been afraid to say, until now. "You're my best friend—the person I've cared the most about in my life. These last couple weeks, knowing that two years had passed since we were together, have been so hard on me. We were so close, and I'm just afraid that you moved on. That you aren't interested in being together anymore. That… I lost you. I don't want that. I… want to be with you."

Shepard paused. It felt like he should say more, but he knew nothing else to say. All he could do was sit there, and wait for Tali's response. Wait for her judgment.

Only a few seconds passed before there was any response from her, but it felt like an eternity. She simply stood up without saying a word, approached him, and sat next to him on the edge of the couch. Her body was oriented in his direction so as to face him.

"I spent two years thinking you were dead," she began to say, "I thought my feelings for you had faded in that time. But since you came back, and I saw you on Freedom's Progress, I realized they were still there—they were always there. They had only been locked away." She paused for a second, and said, "I wanted to do this two years ago…"

With those words, she reached up, and removed her mask.

The first thing Shepard felt was confusion and surprise. It was something he did not expect. But that feeling disappeared in an infinitesimal amount of time. He was looking at her face. _Her face_.

This was the first time Shepard had ever seen it. It had the youthful appearance expected of someone her age. Her skin was smooth; it looked very soft and sensitive. She had a very pretty face, but there was nothing particularly extravagant about it. Her eyes looked gentle and loving, but behind them was a hint of sadness; of the difficulty and hardships of her life. But they also had a certain strength and determination to them. Overall, she looked exactly as Shepard imagined. He found her beautiful.

He smiled.

In the mere seconds that passed after her mask came off, she interrupted his admiration of her face by leaning and pressing her lips against his. She closed her eyes the moment their lips touched.

Whatever attempt at restraint Tali intended as she kissed him, instantly disappeared as she experienced her first kiss. The imaginings and daydreams throughout her life of what kissing was like could not compare to the actual experience. How soft lips felt, and the way they seemingly never wanted to let go of each other. It was incredible. The passion of their kiss rapidly escalated.

Caught up in the moment, she leaned against him, with her hands pushing against his shoulders. Shepard let her body weight push him back until he was on his back. Their lips parted for only a second as Tali positioned herself on top, one leg on each side, and eagerly continued to kiss him.

Shepard's hands moved to Tali's back and pushed downward, gently yet firmly pressing her body against his. Soft, quiet moans involuntarily escaped Tali's mouth. The feeling of her body being squeezed against his only encouraged her desirous, hungry kissing. This was the first time she had ever kissed anyone, and although she technically knew nothing about it, it didn't matter. It felt far too wonderful for her to possibly be doing it wrong.

A while passed, and intensity of their kiss calmed down. Finally, their lips parted. A few quick, soft kisses were exchanged afterwards, and Tali opened her eyes again. They instantly locked with Shepard's, who were only a few inches away.

She suddenly felt embarrassed at how she let herself get carried away. With a quiet, nervous laugh she said, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came ov—"

Shepard interrupted her by kissing her lips again, softly and tenderly. Tali moaned from his sudden gesture, and closed her eyes as she reciprocated.

Their eyes opened again, and they smiled at each other. Shepard slowly brought his hand to her face, and very gently caressed her cheek with the tips of his fingers. Tali wasn't accustomed to feeling her skin touched like that, it almost seemed to tickle her, but she loved it. She exhaled softly from pleasure.

"After you took your mask off," Shepard said in a relaxed, gentle voice, "You didn't give me a chance to tell you that that you look beautiful."

Tali giggled softly and smiled. It meant a great deal to her to be told that. Showing her face to him was the most significant act of trust and love she had ever done in her life. His positive response to it filled her with an almost overwhelming happiness.

"You really think so?" she asked happily.

Shepard found her question very cute. It was evident she just wanted to hear him compliment her face some more, and it was very unlike her to ever fish for compliments like that. It was obvious how much she enjoyed his comment on her appearance; how much it meant to her that he found her attractive.

"I know so," he answered. "I'm going to be very sad when you put your mask on again. First thing tomorrow, we need to find you a clear one."

With a quiet laugh, Tali said, "I don't want anyone to see my face," she leaned in closer to him, "Except for you…" She pressed her lips with his again.

This was another long, intimate kiss. Shepard's hands roamed up and down Tali's back as she lay on top of him. Their heads moved slightly during their kiss; as their lips gently sucked on one another.

Their kiss ended, and a short while passed in which both of them simply looked at each other, enjoying each other's presence. However, the earlier comment about her mask had planted a thought in Shepard's mind. He wanted to ignore it and enjoy the moment, but the logical part of his brain demanded an answer.

He finally asked, "Isn't this dangerous to your health? Having your mask off and kissing like this?"

"I have some extra-strength antibiotics. And this room is a relatively small, controlled environment," she answered. "I don't think my reaction will be too bad, but… I fully expect to have a big fever tomorrow."

Shepard sighed quietly. He wanted this moment to continue, to keep looking at her face and kissing her soft, sweet lips. But he knew that wasn't the right thing to do. "Tali…" he said, "I wish this moment could go on; that I could keep looking at your face like this. But I don't want to risk your health any further."

"I… understand," she responded. Her voice was sad, but understanding. She knew this was dangerous. "I'll put my mask back on."

Tali started to get up off him, but abruptly stopped. She looked at him for just a moment, and suddenly threw her arms around him and came in for one last, long kiss. After it ended, neither of them really wanted to stop. They kissed each other with several small, quick pecks for a short while.

Finally, they gave each other what was truly the last kiss—for now, at least—and she got up off him, standing up in front of the couch. The mask had fallen to the ground, which she picked up and brought back to her helmet, locking it in place.

She turned and found Shepard sitting on the couch, typing into his omni-tool. Tali sat down right next to him, and leaned her head against his shoulder. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Shepard turned his head and looked at her. He smiled, and answered, "Clearing you from the hot-bunking schedule. You can forget about sleeping in pod seven tonight."

With that, Shepard stood up and took Tali's hand, helping her up. He guided her over to his bed, where they laid down together.

Tali cuddled in closely in the position she had always enjoyed, her head resting against his shoulder and with his arms around her. She was finally back in Shepard's arms; the place she spent two years believing she would never be again.

Shepard held her close and tightly, greatly content over everything that had transpired. His fear and concern had been alleviated, and the person he loved most in the galaxy was with him again, resting, snuggled in his arms.


	18. I'll Help

_**I'll Help**_

Tali's eyes opened. She was on Shepard's bed, lying on her side and facing the left side of the room. The first thing she noticed upon waking was that Shepard was no longer in bed, her arms were absent of his body. The second thing, were the symptoms of her illness.

Tali felt pressure in her head, which gave her a headache. She recognized that this was from congested sinuses. She also had a sore, itchy throat which she would soon need a cough to satisfy. There was also a feeling of warmth; a light fever. Despite the unpleasantness of her symptoms, she considered them to be relatively mild and was grateful that her reaction wasn't worse. It would take a few days to feel normal again, but that was alright. Exposing her face to Shepard and kissing him had been incredible. Her current sickness was worth it.

The emotions of the previous night were still rich and vivid in her mind. It felt as if she spent the whole night dreaming of what had happened; her mind's way of organizing and sorting the new, amazing experience. Her lips still seemed to tingle from the feeling of pressing with another's for the first time. It had been wonderful, and she found herself looking forward to her illness clearing up, more so that she could experience another night like the previous, than for the sake of the illness being gone.

Tali rolled to her back and stretched. A few quiet pops escaped from her joints, and she grunted quietly at the apex of her stretch, just before all her muscles suddenly relaxed and she sighed. Staring up at the ceiling of Shepard's quarters, she noticed the small window on it, which gave a view of the outside. The deep blackness speckled with stars she expected to see wasn't there. Instead, she saw a clear sky reminiscent of a garden world's atmosphere. The Normandy was docked on some planet. She didn't know where they were, but she didn't really care.

"Good morning… beautiful," was heard from off to the side. It was Shepard, sitting on the couch with his datapad in hand. He was dressed in a standard crew uniform. It was evident that he had been awake for a while.

Tali had always found it cute how Shepard rarely wore an officer uniform. On the original Normandy he always wore a regular, navy-colored shirt with dark pants, just like the crewmembers. Meanwhile, most of the ship officers—like Navigator Pressly and Engineer Adams—all wore Alliance officer uniforms. She liked Shepard's decision in his attire; it was an example of the type of leader he was. He always took charge, but he never lorded his authoritative position over the rest of the crew. It reminded her of how captains on the Migrant Fleet were rarely subject to preferred conditions. They typically lived in living spaces the same size as everyone else, and received no preferential treatment with rationed supplies.

"Hello, Shepard… uh, _good morning_," Tali greeted in response, awkwardly. The phrase 'good morning' wasn't common among quarians, but it was one she noticed was fairly common among humans. She had heard him use it several times before, but this was the first time she said it herself.

Shepard smiled at her response. He also noticed her voice sounded slightly nasally and congested, which instantly reminded him that she had likely gotten sick from removing her mask the previous night.

"How do you feel?" he asked as he stood up, approached the bed, and sat on its edge.

Tali reached forward and grabbed at Shepard's shoulders, pulling him down so that he fell unto the bed with her. Shepard chuckled quietly, and positioned himself more comfortably at Tali's side. They lay cuddled together, staring up at the ceiling.

"I feel okay," Tali said. "I have a mild fever and some congestion, but it's nothing too serious."

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm sure. I should be back to normal in a few days."

"Good," he responded, "I was a little worried. It's why I didn't wake you up."

She gave him a light squeeze with her arms. There was a short period of silence as they lay together, staring up at the ceiling; at the sky visible through the window up top. Occasionally a small ship would zoom by some distance above them.

"Where are we, by the way?" Tali asked.

"Illium—it's an asari colony. We have a lot to do here, so we're going be here a while."

"I've heard of this world," she said, "The corporations here aren't too fond of the Migrant Fleet. They spend a lot of resources to keep it away."

The tone of Tali's voice wasn't particularly emotional during her statement. It was obvious she didn't really want to talk about it, but was merely making a comment.

"That reminds me," Shepard said, "I got an interesting message from the Migrant Fleet's Admiralty a short while ago. From someone called Rael'Zorah. Know him?" He asked in a playful way; it was obvious he knew who it was.

"My father messaged you?" Tali asked in surprise. "What did he say?"

"It was just a confirmation that your request to be transferred to my command has been approved. And a warning to me that he expects you be treated well, and no harm come to you," Shepard answered.

"Don't pay too much attention to him. He's just being a little overprotective."

"I sent a reply letting him know that his little girl was just fine, aside from the fever she got from me. Should I have not done that?"

"What?" Tali responded in shock.

Shepard just laughed and said, "Relax! It was a joke. I wouldn't say something like that to him—I don't need the entire Migrant Fleet chasing me down."

"You bosh'tet, don't joke like that!"

Shepard's laugh ended and he asked, "By the way… did you ever mention to him how close we were during your pilgrimage? The way he worded his message—I just got the feeling he suspects something."

"No, I never told him we were together. But I wouldn't be surprised if he does suspect something. Over these last two years I often mentioned you and our missions together." Tali then placed her hand on Shepard's face and gently held his cheek, "I couldn't help but speak fondly of you."

Shepard smiled and placed his hand on top of hers. He kissed the palm of her small, gloved hand.

There was a period of blissful silence after Shepard's gesture as they continued to lie together, holding each other and enjoying one another's presence.

"So," Shepard said, "How do you think your dad will feel about you having a human boyfriend?"

"Keelah… I don't even want to think about it," Tali responded. "Don't get me wrong, it's not like my father has anything against humans, it's just—I don't think he'd be happy with me being in a relationship with _anyone_."

"I understand. Hopefully whenever I meet him, it'll be under good terms."

. . .

The time passed since Tali joined the Normandy, and in that time much was done to progress the mission to stop the Collectors. The Normandy received more upgrades, new team members were recruited, and now they were even spending time on clearing the personal matters of individual team members to ensure their focus and loyalty to the mission.

Shepard in particular felt content with how things were currently developing. The time directly after his awakening had been a bitter one. The confusion of knowing he had been brought back from the dead, the unsettling feeling of knowing he was working with a terrorist organization, and the unhappy encounter he had with former teammate Ashley Williams on the colony of Horizon had fueled sadness and pessimism within him.

But the time around Tali's rejoining of the Normandy had marked a turning point. Not only did her presence greatly brighten Shepard's days, some real progress was happening toward their mission. Shepard knew that stopping the Collectors would always remain a dangerous task, but he was finally feeling hopeful and confident that his team could pull it off.

In the time that passed, whenever Tali felt healthy enough and there weren't any upcoming ground missions, she would remove both her mask and helmet for him in their quarters. Those nights were few and rare, but Tali relished each one. They were blissful times; she loved being alone with him, her head fully uncovered. Seeing his smile whenever her mask came off always filled Tali with joy, but the best part was getting to feel his lips press with hers; getting to feel the warm breath from his nostrils gently tickle her face.

There had been one night in particular that was special. They sat together on the sectional couch of their quarters, Tali's head uncovered. Shepard asked if he could take a holo with his omni-tool of her exposed face. Initially, she said no. She didn't like the idea of a holo of her face existing. But Shepard insisted, and promised that only his eyes would ever see it; he would even encrypt the file on his omni-tool, so only he could access it. Tali finally agreed, and Shepard took the holo.

The image captured that night was heartwarming and beautiful. It was a holo of just their faces. Tali was on the left and Shepard on the right. Their heads were close together, to the point that their cheeks touched. They both smiled happily and blissfully, with their eyes looking straight ahead at the omni-tool used to take the image. Anyone who did not know them or their story, could look at the holo captured that night, and smile at how obviously in love the human male and quarian female subjects were. At how happy they were with one another. There was a deep, profound happiness on their faces. One that revealed that they were among the fortunate few in the galaxy who had truly found their other half.

Shepard was now currently in the antechamber before his quarters; the small, empty area that separated the entrance of his quarters and the elevator door. He was there with Mordin, and they were busy installing a decontamination unit into the area. It was among the numerous spare parts and devices held in a small storage room of the cargo bay.

Once fully installed, it would automatically sweep the antechamber with a sterilizing beam of light—very reminiscent of the Normandy's airlock—whenever someone tried to enter Shepard's quarters. By performing a decontamination cycle before either him or Tali entered, the interior of their quarters would be much safer for Tali to be without her mask on. The only germs that would be inside their quarters, would be theirs.

The idea for this had been in Shepard's mind for a while. He recalled Tali's words that first time she removed her mask, which now felt so long ago: _"…this room is a relatively small, controlled environment." _She was right, his cabin was indeed a well controlled environment. Like many of the doors throughout the Normandy, including the ones found on the elevator shaft, the door of his quarters was designed to form an airtight seal whenever it closed. This safety mechanism was found throughout all sections of the ship, which allowed individual rooms to be sealed off in case of a hull breach. It was standard design among all spacefaring vessels.

In addition to this, fresh, sterilized air was already perpetually flowing into his quarters through vents connected to the Normandy's life-support systems. The life-support systems constantly cycled the air throughout the ship, keeping it at approximately 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. During which, it would also purify and sterilize the air, removing all pathogens and dust before venting it back into the ship.

Since the air of his quarters was constantly being purified by the ship (albeit slowly), and it had a small antechamber that could effectively act as an airlock, it had occurred to Shepard to install the decontamination unit in the antechamber. The decontamination cycle would kill any microbes that happened to be on Shepard's skin and clothes, or the outside of Tali's suit, before they entered the cabin. This meant that the only germs inside their quarters would be the bacteria naturally produced by their bodies.

Their quarters would effectively become the equivalent of a linked suit environment.

Shepard had discussed this with Mordin, who agreed it was a good idea. He mentioned how it eliminated all variables beyond the bacteria produced by Shepard's own body. Tali would still have to adapt to him, and until her immune system got accustomed to his germs she would continue to experience illness from exposing herself to him, but it was significantly safer and healthier than being exposed to air that could potentially have bacteria and microbial matter from anywhere and anyone.

There were only two downsides: they would have to wait ten seconds for the decontamination cycle to complete every time before entering, and no one else would be allowed to enter their quarters.

_No one else ever comes up here anyway,_ Shepard told himself. _And besides, she's worth it. She's worth an extra ten second wait a few times a day, and so much more._

Shepard and Mordin were just finishing the installation of the decontamination unit. While Mordin was first and foremost a biologist, he did have some engineering knowledge and was able to help Shepard with the relatively simple installation. Tali would have been the most ideal person for the job, given her wizardry with engineering and technology, but Shepard wanted it to be a surprise for her.

"There!" Mordin said, stepping down from one of the two A-frame ladders that they used to install the new machine on the ceiling. Shepard had helped lift it into place and lock it in, but Mordin configured it and installed it into the Normandy's systems. "Should do it. Installation complete."

"Let's give it a test," Shepard said as he hit the green holographic control pad of his door. Immediately, the decontamination unit initiated, and there was a mechanical hum as a bright plane of light swept at a steady pace throughout the entire antechamber, from top to bottom. Only after it finished did the door open.

"That was perfect. Syncing it into the Normandy's door system worked beautifully. I owe you one, Mordin."

"Nonsense, happy to help!" Mordin said. "Tali'Zorah important to mission. Want to see her healthy, happy."

"Thanks just the same," Shepard said as he began to pick up the tools they had used. "I'm going to take this stuff back to the cargo bay, then I'm going to get Tali to come up here so she can see this for herself. She's going to love it."

"Will return to lab then," Mordin said as he began to approach the elevator door. He stopped, turned, and said, "When you have time, come by lab. Would like to offer some… medical advice, on relations with Tali'Zorah."

Shepard smiled, amused. It was obvious what he was referring to.

.

Shepard had put away the tools and ladders used for the installation, and was now entering Engineering to find Tali. He entered through Engineering's left entrance, since the left side was where Tali's terminal was, and where she could typically be found. As he expected, Tali was standing in front of it. But something seemed off. She stood in an unusual pose, with her hands resting on top of the console, and her head tilted down.

Shepard approached and placed his arms around her waist from behind, his fingers lightly interlocking as his hands rested on her abdomen. Her reaction to this approach had always been to stop what she was doing, place her hands on top of Shepard's, and lean her body back against his, relaxing and enjoying his hold. But this time, she reacted differently. Quickly, she turned around and placed her hands on Shepard's arms, tensely holding them and looking at his eyes.

"Shepard, I'm glad you're here," she said with noticeable concern in her voice. "I may need your help."

"What's wrong, Tali?" Shepard asked.

"I just received a message from the Admiralty," she said, her fingers gripping slightly tighter on his arms. "I'm being accused of treason against the Migrant Fleet."

"…I'm scared, Shepard."


	19. What Are the Charges?

_**What Are the Charges?**_

Only a few hours after learning that Tali was being tried for treason, the Normandy had arrived at the Migrant Fleet and docked with the Rayya, where the trial would soon take place. The Normandy had been close to a mass relay when Tali received the message, so they were able to arrive quickly.

"I'm not sure I like this—that they're only letting you and me unto the ship. I'd prefer to have a full team, like normal." Shepard said as Tali and him walked down the docking bridge that currently connected the Normandy's airlock with the Rayya.

"It's probably because our ship is technically flagged as Cerberus," Tali commented. "It'll be okay, it's not like we're going to do any fighting. I'm just glad you're allowed in with me."

They reached the end of the docking bridge, but stopped just before going through the door. Shepard said, "I've never been on a quarian ship before. Anything I should know?"

"You don't need to worry about anything. Just be yourself," she answered. "Oh, and keep your helmet on, otherwise they'll have to seal off and decontaminate the whole area."

The door opened and they stepped through. They met with the Rayya's captain, who was polite toward both Tali and Shepard, which was a pleasant relief after the hours they had spent worrying about her trial. Shortly after their greeting, the mystery of why Tali was being accused of treason was revealed by him: she was being tried for bringing active geth parts and components unto the Migrant Fleet, as part of a secret project.

Tali immediately defended herself. She stressed that she while she had indeed sent back numerous geth parts, all of them had been inactive and incapable of posing any danger. She explained that she had been very careful, even passing up great finds to stay on the side of caution; she would never endanger the Fleet.

The captain responded by explaining that he was only informing her of what he knew. He also explained that he was technically under orders to place her under arrest pending the trial, so she was confined to the ship for now.

Upon hearing what the trial was about, and hearing Tali explain that she had only sent inactive parts back, Shepard found himself feeling relieved. He knew Tali would never endanger the Migrant Fleet, and that she certainly would have been very cautious with anything she sent back. It seemed certain now that a simple mistake had been made; one that they would now be able to rectify.

But there was also another reason Shepard felt relieved. From the moment Tali had mentioned that she was being accused of treason, he feared that it was because she had sent him the details of her mission on Haestrom. There was no doubt in his mind that the consequences for leaking mission information—to someone currently affiliated with a terrorist organization, no less—that was assigned by the very top of her people's military command, would be severe. He was glad this was not the reason Tali was being tried, especially since he was the one who insisted Tali let him know about the mission.

Shepard and Tali proceeded to walk down the corridor, so as to reach the chamber where the trial was going to be held. Shepard took note of the interior of the quarian ship as they walked. As he expected, much of it looked fairly antiquated. The occasional repair was noticeable throughout. The ceiling also had various nets holding up storage containers and items; a testament to the limited space quarians had to live with.

There were a few quarians casually standing throughout the corridor, some of them engaging in idle conversation. A couple stood by the corridor's window, admiring the view of the incredibly advanced frigate docked just outside. As Shepard and Tali walked by, most of the idle quarians couldn't help but glance at them, specifically Shepard. It was an exceedingly rare sight to see a non-quarian aboard any ship of the Migrant Fleet. Many of them also noticed the high-tech, ablative combat armor that Shepard wore, as well as the cutting edge weapons he carried on his back. Just as it was rare to see a non-quarian on the ship, it was also rare to see such modern, top of the line equipment.

They approached the end of the corridor and turned right. At the end of the new corridor stood two female quarians speaking to each other. As Shepard and Tali approached, the one on the right noticed them and said something to the other, who then departed. The remaining quarian turned to face them, so as to greet them.

The quarian watched carefully as Tali'Zorah approached, side by side with the human male, who she knew was Commander Shepard. The human walked with an amazing degree of confidence. His posture, his stride, the movements of his arms… it was like the walk of an apex predator, roaming fearless and unchallenged. He was an indomitable spirit. In the mere seconds she had to observe his movement and study his body language, it instantly became clear that he was indeed worthy of all the praise she had heard him receive.

She also noticed how close together Tali and him walked together. It was a sign that each one was welcomed into the personal space of the other. The observation was no surprise to her.

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy," she greeted as they reached her, "I am glad you came. I could delay them only so long."

"Auntie Raan," Tali said as she approached and hugged her. "Shepard vas Normandy, this is Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay. She's a friend of my father's."

"_Captain_ Shepard, I'm pleased to finally meet you. Tali has spoken very highly of you," Raan greeted. She looked at him, momentarily glanced at Tali, and then back at Shepard. Raan remembered well when Tali returned from her pilgrimage; how upset she was that this human had supposedly died. In the two years that passed since then, it was very common for Tali to bring up him, and share stories of the adventures they had been on together.

A short time before being sent on the mission to Haestrom, Tali had told Raan that he was alive. She explained that he had been brought back to life, and that she wanted to rejoin his crew. Raan wasn't sure what to make of it—she didn't know such a thing was even possible—but she enjoyed seeing Tali be so happy again.

"It's nice to meet you, Admiral. Hopefully we can get this sorted out quickly," Shepard said as he shook her hand, which was a gesture common to both species.

_It's good that she has him here with her,_ Raan thought to herself, _she's going to need his support when she finds out what happened to her father._

"Wait, Raan," Tali said, "You called me 'vas Normandy.'"

"I'm afraid I did, Tali. The Admiralty moved to have you tried under that name, given your departure from the Neema."

"Keelah… that's as good as declaring me exiled already."

"Let's not waste any time then," Shepard said. He then asked Raan, "Does Tali have a defense councilor, someone who speaks for her side?"

"Indeed she does, Captain Shepard. She is part of your crew, now, recognized by quarian law. And a defendant is always represented by his or her captain."

Shepard looked at Tali, who looked right back on him. She didn't need to say anything.

Shepard said, "You know I'm not exactly familiar with quarian law, Tali, but I promise I'll do everything in my power to help you."

"I know you will, Shepard, and thank you. I could not ask for a better defense councilor."

The three of them continued to speak a short while longer. Raan mentioned how, due to her history with Tali's family, she would not be able to participate in the actual judgment. She would only preside over the trial.

People started entering the chamber where the trial would take place, which signaled to them that it was now starting. Shepard and Tali went inside, and took their place at the defendant's spot.

. . .

It wasn't long into the trial when it was suddenly revealed what exactly had transpired. Supposedly, the geth parts Tali had sent to her father had come to life, replicated, and seized control of the lab ship, the Alarei. It was presumed that all people on board were dead, including Tali's father.

Tali couldn't believe what she had heard. The shock of the news was greatly augmented by the fact that Raan hadn't said anything about the possibility of her father being dead; it came as a complete and terrible surprise to Tali. The thought of her father now being a corpse, lying motionless on the cold, metal floor of the Alarei, instantly and completely replaced Tali's concern over getting exiled. The entire trial no longer mattered to her at all. All that did matter, was finding her father.

Shepard immediately called for the trial to be placed on hold, stating that their top priority should be to reclaim the Alarei. He also knew they had to look for Tali's father; he could only imagine how painful it must have been for her, not knowing if he was even alive.

The admirals agreed, and gave Shepard and Tali permission to attempt to reclaim the ship. Shepard spoke briefly with some of the admirals before departing. During which, he learned that the trial in reality had little to do with Tali herself. The quarians seemed to be close to war with the geth, and all of the admirals had different opinions on it. Han'Gerrel wanted to fight them to reclaim the homeworld. Daro'Xen was fascinated by the geth, and wanted to find a way to reprogram them so that they could be the servants of the quarians once again. And Zaal'Koris wanted to avoid conflict with the geth altogether, preferring to forget about their homeworld and colonize a new planet.

It was evident that this trial existed just so that the admirals could push and support their own political agendas. They didn't care about Tali.

Tali and Shepard were currently on a small quarian shuttle, flying towards the Alarei. They sat next to each other. Tali was very quiet, holding her hands together, staring blankly at the ground. Her mind busy trying to make sense of all that had just happened; of the possibility that her father was dead.

"How are you doing? They threw a lot of fire at you back there," Shepard said as he placed his arm around Tali's waist.

She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. "I knew it was going to be bad, but… I couldn't have prepared myself for all this. They stripped me of my ship name, they accused me of treason, they… they said my father is dead…"

"But they don't know that for sure!" Tali continued. "He could still be alive! My father… he knows how to fight geth. He could still be, he…" Tali trailed off, her emotions preventing her from finishing her sentence.

"If he's even half as smart and resourceful as you, Tali, I'm sure he's fine. We'll find him."

"I hope so…" Tali said somberly.

Shepard hated seeing Tali so upset. In an attempt to cheer her up a little, he lightheartedly said, "Do me a favor. On the ride back, sit next to your dad. I'd rather not spend the flight back dodging his punches, if he saw us sitting like this."

A quiet, weak laugh escaped Tali's mouth. She then sighed, and stayed quiet, sinking back into her thoughts.

A brief moment later the shuttle came to a halt. It had reached the Alarei. It rumbled quietly, and some mechanical noises reverberated on the inside as it locked into one of the ship's docking stations.

"We're here," Shepard said as he stood up. "Come on, Tali, let's go find your dad."

Tali stood up as well. She looked at Shepard for a moment as he walked toward the shuttle's airlock and said, "Shepard… thank you."

He turned and asked, "For what?"

"For agreeing to help take back the Alarei. For being here to help me find my dad. For… everything." Tali took a few steps, approaching him, and continued, "You… you're all I have, right now. I just wanted you to know that I'm grat—"

"No, Tali," he interrupted, speaking in a gentle voice, "Don't thank me for any of this. How could I possibly not be here, helping someone who means so much to me?" He then took her hands and held them, looking at her eyes.

Tali said, "I, I know, it's just… I'm just really glad that you're here, with me."

"I'm glad I'm here, too. Helping you," he said. "Come on, let's take back this ship."

"Okay, Shepard," Tali said, her voice slightly cheerier than before. They then stepped through the shuttle's airlock, and walked down the docking bridge.

"You know, I'm actually a little anxious to try out my new anti-material rifle," Shepard commented as they walked.

"The one you found on the Collector ship? I don't even know how you can walk around with that thing on your back."

"I was kind of hoping you'd help carry it for me," Shepard joked. Tali responded by playfully butting her shoulder against his.

They reached the entrance of the Alarei, and stepped inside.

. . .

Shepard and Tali progressed through the ship without much difficulty. They encountered numerous groups of geth, ranging from Troopers to Hunters, but all were dispatched with relative ease. Both Shepard and Tali were among the most experienced people in the galaxy at fighting geth, so they were well within their element.

There was a high degree of synergy between the two. Their strengths in combat complimented each other well, and against the geth, they formed a single, unstoppable unit. Shepard was well aware that they didn't have a complete team for this, so he planned their combat accordingly. He made sure that they stayed at a distance from the geth, often trying to bottleneck them around corners or room entrances.

Shepard often attempted to draw their fire unto himself, knowing he was far more heavily shielded and armored than Tali. This let her concentrate on using her tech abilities, which were specifically effective in combat scenarios against geth. As he drew their fired and delivered devastating, precise attacks from his 86lbs Widow anti-material rifle, Tali would hack into their systems and cause them to attack one another, as well as send her combat drone in to distract them. Tali also contributed to the shooting in-between her tech abilities, with her modified Spectre shotgun, which was still devastatingly powerful despite being an older model.

As they defeated multiple groups and waves of geth and progressed through the Alarei, they encountered various consoles with vid logs left by the now deceived crew. There was a particularly sad one, in which a female quarian told her son, Jona, that he had to stay strong, and that she loved him very much. Right after, she was gunned down by unseen geth, and the message ended.

In another room, they found a console that contained significant information on the kinds of experiments that were happening on the ship, that led to the geth's take over. Tali looked through the files, her horror building as it was starting to become obvious that her father may have been responsible for all that happened. That the geth may have actually been deliberately activated, as part of his experiments.

"What was all this, father," she said, speaking to herself as she looked through the data on the console display, "You promised you'd build me a house on the homeworld. Was this going to get us back home?"

This was the first time Shepard had ever heard of her father's promise. It tugged at his heart to hear it. As much as he knew that Tali wanted their people to return home, it had never occurred to Shepard how significant it would be for her to have an actual house on her planet; how it would be the greatest possible gift she could ever receive.

"That's… quite a promise, Tali," Shepard said. Despite knowing what a seemingly impossible promise it was, for a moment, he found himself wanting to promise her the same thing.

"I know it is," she said with a sigh. "But I always chose to believe it. You can't imagine what it's like, living like this, trapped inside a damned suit your whole life, with no homeworld to ever return to."

Shepard had always known Tali was in favor of going to war with the geth, as it seemed like the only way for them to ever return back to their planet. Shepard also knew that it was a bad idea; not only could it possibly mean the extinction of her race, but it would also mean that the largest armada in the galaxy, the Migrant Fleet, would not be available to help against the inevitable Reaper invasion.

He considered discussing the topic of the quarians going to war and why it was a bad idea, but he decided not to. It was a very touchy subject, and she was under enough stress already. There would be other, better times to discuss it.

"Let's go, Tali. Let's keep moving," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder to encourage her to walk away from the console.

Not long afterwards, they entered a room that had a flight of stairs, leading down to a lower level. A particularly large wave of geth emerged in the lower floor. It was a heated battle with limited room to maneuver. Shepard focused his attention on the stairway, knowing that if even one geth made it to the top, they would be in trouble. The only geth that managed to reach the top, instantly found itself knocked back from the concussive force of Tali's shotgun. Its body tumbled down the stairs, and remained lifeless once it reached the bottom.

Ultimately, the wave was defeated, like all the previous ones. Shepard and Tali descended the stairway. This area, which only moments ago roared loudly as the sound of gunfire reverberated through its walls, was now eerily quiet. While Tali investigated some nearby logs, Shepard approached the only door of the room. As it opened, a corridor was revealed, and there was a male quarian's body lying on the floor of its center, motionless; dead.

Since boarding the Alarei, Shepard had seen numerous quarian bodies. They were never a pleasant thing to see; the tragedy of witnessing their dead bodies was augmented for Shepard in a somewhat primal way; quarians bled red, just like his own race. But something about this dead quarian in particularly disturbed him. He felt a very subtle chill run down his spine as he looked at the lifeless body. Somehow, he just knew that this was Rael'Zorah; that this was Tali's—

"Father!" Tali yelled, running into the corridor where her father now lay.

Shepard turned his head and looked at her as she ran past him and dropped to her knees before her father's body, desperately wanting to see that he was alive. Her hands trembled nervously as she investigated the body. Shepard let out a loud sigh. He instantly regretted all the hopeful things he had said to Tali about finding her father.

"No! No no no," Tali said, her voice heavy with desperation. Each one of her 'no's was like a stab to Shepard; he felt incredibly empathetic toward her. He hated seeing her suffer like this.

"You always had a plan," Tali continued, "Masked life-signs, or, or an onboard medical stasis program. You, you wouldn't—" Tali started to weep, interrupting her own words.

Shepard approached and placed his hand on her shoulder. Tali immediately got up and threw her arms around him, continuing to cry.

"Damn it! Damn it!" she sobbed, holding Shepard tightly.

"It's okay," Shepard whispered quietly, "It'll be alright." He was well aware of how fruitless such words were at comforting someone who had lost a loved one. But he was also aware that there was never anything else to say.

"Thank you…" Tali said weakly, continuing to hold Shepard, weeping.

After a short while passed, she pulled from the hug and looked down at her father's corpse. She sniffled, forcing herself to stop crying. "Maybe he knew I'd come for him," she said, "Maybe he left a message."

Tali sniffled again, and kneeled down before her father. She activated his omni-tool, which displayed a recorded holo of himself. In it, he mentioned that if she was seeing this, then he was dead. He then gave her instructions on how to disable all the geth on the ship by deactivating their main hub on the bridge. He also instructed her to show Han'Gerrel and Daro'Xen the data from the hub. The message then abruptly ended to the sound of recorded gunfire.

Rael's entire message had been nothing but orders. Not one word had been spent on the things that would have mattered most to his daughter. There was no goodbye; no apology for the wrong he had done; no pleasant, warm words of affection, that Tali could keep in her heart and cherish forever.

"Thanks, dad…" Tali said with sad, bitter sarcasm. Deep down, she wanted to believe that her father would have said more to her had he not been cut off. That he would have said what she wanted most to hear; the words she had always longed for, yet had never heard from him: _"I love you, Tali, my daughter."_

But that single semblance of hope she held, that told her that maybe he intended to speak those words to her at the end of his message, was drowned out by the simple, agonizing fact that he chose to give her orders _first_. It was what mattered most to him, even in the face of death.

"He knew you'd come for him," Shepard said, attempting to comfort her. "He tried to help you. I know it's not what you would've wanted, but it was all he could do."

Tali stayed quiet for a brief moment. She then said, "Do you remember that video log we found, a few rooms back? With the mother saying goodbye to her son? _She_ used her last words to tell her son she loved him. My father… he used his last words to give me orders."

Shepard himself had noticed the stark contrast between that unnamed mother's last message, and Rael's. He had no intention of pointing it out, but it was no surprise that Tali had noticed it as well.

"Come on, Tali. You don't need to see this any further," Shepard said, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Let's keep pushing forward. The sooner we're off this ship, the better."

Tali took a moment to compose herself, and the two continued down the corridor.

. . .

Multiple geth bodies now lay on the floor of the Alarei's bridge, all damaged and dead, with white conductive fluid splattered on the floor and walls near their bodies. Close to the center of the room was the large body of a Geth Prime. Damage had been inflicted throughout its entire body, but most notable of all was the large hole through its mangled head; Shepard's Widow anti-material rifle had been put to good use.

Shepard and Tali approached the central hub at the end of the bridge, that Rael'Zorah had mentioned in his message. Tali scanned it with her omni-tool, and after typing in a few commands, disabled it. Any remaining geth on the ship were now offline.

"There's some kind of log here," Tali commented. She then brought it up on the hub's holo screen.

The log showed her father and two other Quarian researchers. They briefly discussed the experiments they were conducting with the geth, and during the discussion one of the researchers suggested having Tali bring back more complete geth parts. Rael immediately and sternly rejected the suggestion, stressing he didn't want Tali to be in any risk of political blowback due to their illegal experiments. The content of the log showed that Rael was fully responsible for what had happened, and completely cleared Tali's name.

There was complete silence after the vid ended. Tali stared at the blank display, her mind busy making sense of what she just saw. She had no choice but to accept what she had been fearing: that everything that had happened was truly her father's fault.

"I… this is all his fault," she muttered in disbelief and shock, "I didn't want to believe it, but this… when this comes out in the trial…"

She immediately turned to Shepard and said, "We can't tell the admirals—we can't tell anyone! We can't… nobody can know about this!"

"What? Tali, without this evidence, you're looking at exile!"

"You think I don't know that?" Tali snapped. "I do! I know that without it I may never see the Fleet again! But I can't let my father go down as the worst war criminal in my people's history! I can't let him be remembered as a traitor, as some kind of monster; I cannot!" She paused for a moment, calming down, and continued. "Please, Shepard… don't let all the good my father has done be tossed aside and forgotten forever. Please, don't show this to the admirals… don't destroy my father's memory."

Shepard looked at Tali and sighed. As much as he hated the idea of this, he knew that he couldn't say no to her; not with something like this. "Tali, since I have known you, I have known how much your people mean to you. I know how much you love the Migrant Fleet. And the thought of you losing something that is so dear to you… I don't want to think about it." Shepard paused a moment. "But… this is your decision. If you don't want me to show this to the admirals, then I won't. I just hope you're making the right choice."

"I know I am, Shepard. Thank you," she answered quietly.

"Whatever happens when we return to that trial, whatever those admirals decide… know that you'll always have a place—a home—with me, on the Normandy. Always."

Tali embraced Shepard, and hugged him tightly.


	20. You Deserved Better

_**You Deserved Better**_

Shala'Raan stood at her position on the top podium among the admiralty, carefully observing Commander Shepard and Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. They had arrived from the Alarei a mere moment ago. She was greatly relieved to see them back alive, but now, as the trial continued and she had just asked if they had found any evidence of Tali's innocence, a knot was growing in her stomach. They were hesitating to answer.

Raan knew that Rael'Zorah had been performing tests with geth parts on the Alarei, though she did not know any specifics. She also knew that if anyone could be trusted with the safety of the Migrant Fleet, it was Tali. She was convinced Tali was innocent, and was fully expecting them to have found something that proved that. There was no reason for their hesitation.

Shepard stepped fourth, and with one final moment of hesitation, he answered.

"We found nothing on the Alarei…"

"Very well," Admiral Zaal'Koris quickly said, "Then we proceed with the voting."

"You didn't let me finish, Admiral," Shepard responded. Since the moment the trial had began, Shepard had been annoyed by Koris' treatment of Tali. He had some good ideas toward peace with the geth, but Shepard found him excessively rude to Tali; it genuinely seemed as if he wanted her to get exiled, even with no evidence of her doing anything wrong.

"As I was saying," Shepard continued, "We found nothing on the Alarei. But I have evidence: Tali'Zorah herself."

Koris was about to interrupt so as to call out the asinine claim, but Shepard continued speaking, louder and bolder so he wouldn't be interrupted. "When I met Tali on the Citadel, she gave me an audio recording taken from a geth's memory core that proved Saren was a traitor. By doing so, we were able to hunt down Saren and stop him before he could call in the Reapers. Think about that carefully for a minute. Tali is directly responsible for preventing a Reaper invasion. She saved _every person in the galaxy._ That alone should be all the evidence you need.

"But her accomplishments don't stop there. She joined my crew, and together we traveled throughout the galaxy, disrupting all of Saren's plans. It all finally culminated on the Citadel itself, where we ascended Citadel Tower and faced Saren ourselves. Tell me, has anyone here fought in the Battle of the Citadel? Where any of you there?"

Shepard paused a moment, waiting a second before continuing his harangue. "Tali was, and she helped defeat Saren! Tali'Zorah saved the Citadel that day, just like she saved the Alarei today."

"We are all aware of Tali'Zorah's accomplishments," Koris said. "But I fail to see what relevance any of this—"

"None of you are even interested in Tali, are you?" Shepard interrupted Koris, deliberately ignoring the change of subject he was attempting. "This trial is about the geth. It has nothing to do with her!"

"This trial has nothing to do with the geth!" Koris immediately refuted.

"Wrong, Admiral!" Shepard snapped. "I spoke with all of you earlier. _You_—" he pointed at Koris, "Want to create sympathy for the geth. Gerrel wants to go to war. Xen wants to try and enslave them. None of you care about Tali! Your attempt at garnering support for your political views is the only reason I'm standing here, wasting my time defending an innocent person!"

Shepard paused a moment, collecting his thoughts before continuing. The admirals stood there, dumbfounded by Shepard's calling out, unable to come up with a way to refute his claims.

Shepard continued his defense, "My people believe in a legal right known as 'innocent until proven guilty.' _That_ is true justice; a person shouldn't have to prove their innocence. It's their guilt that should be proven. And none of you have any proof that Tali brought dangerous material to the Fleet.

"And yet, I can keep speaking for hours, giving example after example of Tali's ability, competence, and loyalty and love of the Migrant Fleet. Of how she showed the galaxy the value of the quarian people." With one final pause, he concluded, "I can't think of stronger evidence than that."

Finally, Shepard stopped talking, and simply stood in the defendant's spot, looking up at the admirals. He stood in a confident posture; one that communicated to all, that he expected no less than Tali's complete exoneration. It wasn't long before the admirals started to cast their votes.

While the others voted, Raan stood unmoving and silent, keeping her eyes on Shepard, reflecting on all she just witnessed from him. At the very start of his speech, when he mentioned they found nothing on the Alarei, Raan had found herself feeling absolutely furious. She knew damn well that they found something and that they were holding it back for Rael's sake. All the effort she had gone through, to get the others to agree in giving Tali the chance to clear her name by attempting to reclaim the Alarei, would have been in vain.

But she observed as Shepard defended Tali. He had spoken of Tali's numerous achievements, reminding everyone of all she had done for the quarian people. His words were bold and confident, as was his body language. He used his arms to put emphasis on his claims, and casually paced back and forth during his speech; his way of keeping everyone's attention focused on him, and demonstrating the passion that fueled his defense of her.

It was now, at the end of his valiant defense of Tali'Zorah, that it finally became clear to Raan that this human, who was born countless light-years away from the Migrant Fleet, was truly the one for Tali. Tali's love of him became entirely justified, and it was clear that he truly loved her in return. For a brief moment, Raan found herself wishing Tali's mother were alive, just so she could see the man her daughter had found.

The votes concluded, and the verdict was sent to Raan's omni-tool. She lifted her arm, and read the result.

"Tali'Zorah, in light of your history of service and numerous accomplishments, we do not find sufficient evidence to convict. You are cleared of all charges."

Shepard grinned under his mask, greatly relieved as his concern and worry for Tali instantly vanished. He looked at Tali, wanting to cheer with joy and hug her, but he turned back to the admirals as Raan kept speaking.

"Captain Shepard," she said, while typing into her omni-tool, "Please accept these gifts in appreciation for representing one of our people."

"With all due respect, Admiral," Shepard responded, "I didn't represent one of your people. I represented one of mine."

With the trial seemingly over, Shepard felt eager to walk away from the defendant's spot and talk with Tali in private over everything that happened. He was just about to turn when—

"Commander Shepard," Koris asked, his voice completely interrupting the joyous moment, "If you don't mind, there is something I would like to ask you."

The other admirals, who were preparing to vacate their positions on the judgment platform, stopped and stood at their places, waiting to see what Koris wanted to ask. All the joy of the moment came to an instant pause. Shepard felt an uneasy feeling deep inside, worried over what the admiral was about to ask.

"What is it, Admiral?"

"Not long ago, the Admiralty sent a team on a mission to the planet Haestrom," Koris began to say. With those words, Shepard felt like somebody had just punched him in the stomach. "You are, of course, aware of this; you were there."

Koris continued, "Mere hours before the Haestrom mission, an anonymous, encrypted message was sent to your ship from the Migrant Fleet."

"What?" Han'Gerrel asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I take the safety of our flotilla very seriously, Admiral Gerrel" Koris said. "When I read the mission report from Haestrom, and it mentioned a _Cerberus _vessel intervening in a top secret mission assigned by our Admiralty board, I opened an investigation."

"Shepard already explained to the marines how he learned of the mission," Gerrel said. "It was on their mission report."

"It's true," Shepard said. "As I explained on Haestrom, the organization I'm currently working with—"

"Cerberus, correct?" Koris interrupted.

"Yes," Shepard answered tensely, some annoyance noticeable in his voice, "Though I am not a member, they are sponsoring my mission to stop attacks on human colonies by the Collectors, who are agents of the Reapers." Shepard made sure to mention the Reapers, well aware that the quarians believed in their existence.

"As I was saying," Shepard continued, once again using the true statement that served as a lie, that he told the quarians on Haestrom. "Cerberus' leader sent me a dossier on Tali'Zorah, which specified she was on Haestrom. I'm building a team to stop the Collectors, and I'm in need of skilled people such as her." He then added, "If you don't believe me, I can forward you the dossier he sent me."

"That won't be necessary, Commander," Koris said. Unlike Raan, who referred to Shepard as 'captain,' Koris made sure to call him 'commander.' It was a subtle manipulation to downplay his authority to the other quarians. "That explanation never sat well with me, so I took the liberty of initiating an investigation, which was well within my authority as an admiral. The investigation found that mere hours before the mission, an encrypted message originating from the Migrant Fleet—likely the Neema—had been sent to your ship."

Koris waited a short moment before continuing, letting that information sink in for everyone in the room. He then said, "Would you mind telling us, what the contents of that message were?"

Shepard hesitated a moment, carefully thinking on how to best deal with the question. He decided to do what any good lawyer would do in a similar situation; avoid answering it. "I wasn't aware that a second trial had started, Admiral," he said. "I'm sorry, but I'm not under any obligation to reveal the details of my ship's communications."

Tali felt a big relief from hearing his response. She knew he was absolutely correct; with no evidence, this wasn't a trial, and he didn't need to answer.

"You are correct," Koris calmly responded. "You don't have to answer. Although, the investigation team has assured me it's only a short matter of time before they crack the message, and determine the person behind its origin. If the contents of it are what I suspect, then it won't be very long before Tali'Zorah has to return to defend herself once again. Now, are you sure you'd rather not spare the effort, and handle this now, while you're here?"

Shepard wondered what would be best to do. He wished he could discuss it with Tali, but that was impossible at the moment. He knew even turning his head to glance at her would be a major indicator that the secret message sent was indeed from her, and that it contained—

"I sent it," Tali suddenly said, "I told Shepard about the Haestrom mission."

Shepard snapped his head in her direction. She just stared forward, looking straight at the admirals. Throughout the room, there was an eruption of murmurs from the people observing.

"So you admit that you leaked classified mission information to a Cerberus vessel?" Koris asked. He had a smirk under his mask; he knew it was all over for her.

"No. I admit that I told a _friend_," Tali answered defiantly. "A friend I trust with my life. A friend that has battled more geth than anyone in this room. And I'm glad I did—my decision saved quarian lives!"

"We can't really know that for sure," Koris refuted. "But what we do know, is that you leaked classified military information, that had been entrusted to you by the Admiralty. You broke a law, punishable only by exile. You admitted it yourself, and I propose we put this to a vote, right now."

Tali lowered her head momentarily, then looked back up at the admirals. She asked, her voice now low-spirited and ripe with melancholy, "Why are you doing this, Koris? What have I done to make you dislike me so much?"

Gerrel turned to Koris and said in almost a whisper, "Don't do this, Zaal. This isn't right."

Koris ignored Gerrel and answered Tali, "I don't hate you, Tali'Zorah; I hate your ideals—the same ones that your father had. People like you would love nothing more to than to wipe out the geth; the people _we_ already wronged before. And in attempting to meet that goal, you would see our entire fleet burn in the skies above our homeworld!"

"I get it," Shepard said, his voice doing little to hide his vexation, "This is just like the trial. This has nothing to do with Tali—you're doing this purely for your damned political agenda!"

"Ultimately, that is irrelevant," Koris answered. "What matters is that Migrant Fleet law was broken, which Tali'Zorah freely admitted to. We can't ignore that. We can't send the message that our laws can be broken, just because someone is afraid of a mission. Do we really want to establish precedent for ignoring our military commands?

"What if there is war, like some of you want, and other military officers believe it alright to freely discuss our plans with outsiders? What if there is peace, like we should _all_ be striving for, and some overzealous malcontents ignore our laws and attack the geth, shattering our peace?

"The last person we found guilty of treason was Anora'Vanya vas Selani. Similarly, she had leaked classified information to others outside the fleet. Should we allow ourselves to be lenient on Tali'Zorah, just because she _was_ the daughter of an Admiral? No! As Shepard himself said, 'innocent until proven guilty,' and there is no greater proof of guilt than confession. Tali'Zorah admitted that she committed a crime, before a panel of admirals and a room full of witnesses! That's all that is relevant, and we are putting this to a vote, _right now_!"

Koris was aware that the others in the plaza would likely be unhappy if she were exiled for all this, but that ultimately didn't matter. There were over seventeen million quarians in the flotilla, and nearly all of them would only learn the specific, official details: Tali'Zorah leaked classified Migrant Fleet information, and was exiled because of it.

Immediately after Koris finished speaking, Admiral Daro'Xen raised her omni-tool and typed in a vote. Xen wasn't interested in any of this. She felt completely indifferent to both Tali'Zorah and Zaal'Koris' motivation for exiling her. She had plans of her own, and she had grown very impatient with all these matters regarding the incompetent daughter of the now dead Rael'Zorah. All she wanted to do right now, was go to the Alarei and see for herself exactly what experiments with the geth had taken place.

Right after Xen's vote, Han'Gerrel casted his own vote. He had his own political motivation for not wanting Tali to be exiled. But right now, politics didn't matter. What mattered was exonerating the daughter of his deceased best friend; exonerating the person he had known since she was a little girl, scampering about the clean rooms of the Rayya, always curious and eager to learn. It didn't matter to him at all that she had admitted to committing a serious infraction of their laws; he felt she had made the right choice.

Finally, Zaal'Koris brought his right hand to his left forearm, so as to cast his vote. His hand stopped just above his omni-tool, where it hovered as he hesitated momentarily. He tilted his head up slightly, and looked at Tali'Zorah as she stood in the defendant's spot below him, quiet and unmoving. Though her voice was silent, her body language spoke loudly. All the fear and sadness within her was painfully obvious in how she stood: her posture humble, her head low, and her hands held together nervously.

Though the votes were anonymous, Koris knew the others well enough to know how they voted: one vote for exile, and one against it. And since the outcome didn't have to be unanimous, his vote would be the deciding one. With one tap of his finger, he would decide her fate.

_I truly am sorry it has to be like this_, he thought to himself, as if speaking to Tali, _but it is for the best of our race. The ideals of people like you and your father to reclaim our homeworld would doom our race to extinction. The homeworld is lost forever. We must forget about it. We must move on._

His head tilted back up as his gazed returned to his omni-tool, and he casted his vote.

There was complete silence throughout the room. Shala'Raan's omni-tool received the verdict, and as the one presiding over the admirals, it was once again her job to view the result and announce the decision, though she feared the outcome.

With a quiet sigh inaudible to anyone but herself, Raan lifted her arm and looked at her omni-tool.

She saw the decision. For an immeasurably small amount of time, Raan's mind flashed back to twenty-four years ago, when she held a small baby girl in her arms, crying loudly after being taken from her mother, as she was placed in a protective environmental bubble.

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy," Shala'Raan said slowly and dolefully, "As a result of revealing top-level mission information with an unauthorized third-party, you are hereby found guilty of treason against the quarian people, and sentenced to exile. Tali'Zorah, you have six hours to leave. Would you like to request any personal possessions from the Fleet?"

"No, Admiral…" Tali answered, her voice wavering from her restrained emotions, "I have everything I need here."

"Very well. Go in peace, Tali'Zorah vas Normandy. Keelah se'lai."

There was complete silence throughout the room for a short while after Raan's words.

"Well, that's that, then," Tali muttered quietly, as she turned and looked at Shepard. He stood unmoving, his body very tense, still facing the admirals.

He said in a low, quiet growl, "After everything she has done for all of you, this is how you treat her?" It was just barely loud enough to capture the attentions of the admirals, who looked at him, expecting him to continue speaking.

There was a time when Shepard had little discipline. A time during his adolescence when he easily gave in to his youthful rage, and lashed out against anyone who he felt deserved it, without regard of the potential consequences. Sometimes it had saved his life, sometimes it had nearly cost it.

After Shepard joined the Alliance, it quickly became evident that, despite the chaos a soldier may often be subjected to, there was no place for unrestrained fury. It had very little value to a soldier, and even less to a commanding officer. Discipline always had to stay in control. Lack of discipline had killed more soldiers throughout the ages than any weapon.

But despite how well he had suppressed all his youthful tendencies to submit himself to the wills of fury and rage, a small flicker of that youthful fury had always remained. And now, it was on the brink of breaking free of its cage of discipline.

Shepard's right hand was formed into a tense fist. The knuckles under the rigid material of his hard-suit's glove were white from the intensity of his grip. He wanted nothing more than to run to the platform before him, where the admirals stood, and slam his fist into the faceplate of Admiral Zaal'Koris, hearing the loud crack of his visor shattering.

But it was not meant to be. Despite the intensity in which his fury currently burned within him, there was still too much discipline embedded into his being. The rational part of his mind kept him under physical control; it explained to him that attacking the admiral would not help Tali. If he truly loved her, he would not make things worse for her by aggravating the situation, just to satisfy some primal lust for revenge.

He unclenched his fist, and decided to use his words, instead.

With a voice saturated with anger and rage he said, "I want all of you—the admirals, everyone in this room—to take a damn good look at her," he pointed at Tali, "See her? See this quarian? Her name will be remembered among your people, well after all of you have been forgotten. Well after your bones have turned to dust.

"The quarian people will get their homeworld back, one day, and I promise you, it will be thanks to _her_. And on that day, I'm coming back here, with a fist full of soil from your planet, and _I'm going to rub it on your fucking faces._"

He turned to Tali and said, "Come on Tali, let's get out of here." He turned around and began to walk away. Tali followed, and they exited the room, leaving it in utter silence.

No one said anything, no one moved. A feeling of shame lingered in the air among the various witnesses. After a short moment, the dismal silence that filled the room was interrupted with footsteps as Shala'Raan quickly stepped down from her podium and ran after them.

Raan found them in the empty corridor, a short distance from the docking bridge that connected to their ship. "Wait!" she called out.

Tali stopped first and turned around. Shepard also stopped and turned, but only after noticing Tali did.

"What is it, Shala?" Tali asked. Her voice wasn't angry or sad, but weak, tired, and weary.

"I wanted to say that I am so sorry for everything that has happened, Tali. I had no idea that Zaal'Koris had started that investigation. I didn't know of his intentions."

"It's not your fault," Tali responded. Her voice now with noticeable sadness.

Raan looked at Shepard and said, "You are all she has now, Captain Shepard. Please, take care of her… please be good to her."

"Shepard has always been good to me!" Tali immediately snapped, "From the very first day I met him, he has treated me better than anyone!"

Realizing she chose the wrong words, Raan said, "I am sorry. It wasn't my intention…"

Tali didn't want to discuss any of this. It was taking a great effort to keep her emotions restrained, and she just wanted to retreat back to the Normandy. With a wavering voice that made it obvious she was fighting the urge to cry, she said, "Goodbye, Auntie Raan," and turned around. Shepard also turned, and they continued walking, entering the docking bridge.

Tali took one last look at the Rayya's interior before proceeding. Her eyes fixed with Shala'Raan's, who still stood there in the corridor, looking at her. They looked upon each other for the last time, and Tali entered the docking bridge. The door closed behind her, sealing her off from her people forever. The noise of the door closing seemed to sound louder than normal.

They entered the Normandy's airlock, and an automatic decontamination cycle initiated. Ever since they left the Rayya's plaza where the trial had taken place, Shepard had seemed strangely quiet and distant to Tali. But suddenly, in a fit of rage he took off his helmet and threw it hard against the floor. The unexpected action and noise caught Tali off guard, startling her.

"God damn it!" Shepard yelled, and slammed his right fist fiercely against the airlock wall. The hard material of his glove made a very loud _pang_ sound, which reverberated intensely within the small area.

Tali jumped from the much louder noise of Shepard's attack on the wall. She had never seen an outburst from him like that; she had never seen him so angry. Shepard had his back to her, and held himself against the wall with his left arm. Tali nervously stepped closer, and gingerly placed her hand on his shoulder, while maintaining some distance. She wasn't actually worried that Shepard would hurt her, but all instincts told her to be careful with someone who was so worked up.

Shepard turned his head and looked at her. He instantly recognized her cautious stance; the way she kept her distance, how cautiously her hand rested on his shoulder. It was the body language of a scared person. She was afraid_, because of him_. It was something he never wanted to see.

Anger and sadness rarely stray far from each other, and as Shepard looked at Tali, and observed her current caution in regards to him, his anger instantly disappeared. It got replaced with remorse and sadness, as he remembered that _she_ was the one in pain. _She_ was the one who had lost her father today. _She_ was the one who just got exiled by her people. Raan was right: he was all Tali had right now, and he had to be there for her. He couldn't let his anger prevent that.

"Tali," he said in a gentle, remorseful voice, turning to face her, "I'm sorry."

Tali's concern immediately disappeared as she witnessed his changed mood. She stepped closer and placed her hands on his arms, standing right in front of him. She said in a quiet voice, "Please don't be upset, Shepard." She paused briefly, "Despite everything that has happened, I'm still so fortunate. I'm where I should be, here on the Normandy. With the person I should be with… you."

"It's just that—this is my fault! Not only did I fail as your defense councilor, I'm directly responsible for your exile. If I hadn't made you promise to tell me about your missi—"

"No, Shepard—no," Tali immediately interrupted, "Don't you dare apologize for your help on Haestrom. If you saved even one life by arriving when you did, then it was worth my exile. And you did. For all we know, you saved all of us, including me."

Shepard stood in silence as he thought about her words, looking at her faintly glowing eyes. A very small, weary smiled appeared on his face and he said, "I'm the one who's supposed to be cheering you up, not the other way around."

Tali moved her hands from Shepard's arms and wrapped her arms around his torso, embracing him. She said, "I'm tired of today—of all the negativity and bad things that happened. This day has been so… you know how it's been, you were right there with me the whole time, by my side. You were the only one there for me, through it all. And right now, I'd rather just—I want to forget about today."

"I understand," Shepard said, "Would you like to just go to our quarters and get some rest?"

The suggested sounded wonderful to Tali. While she often enjoyed to bury herself with work whenever she was depressed or upset, as a way of keeping her mind busy, right now she wanted nothing more than to go to their quarters with him, and relax in peace. She answered, "Yes… as long as my captain comes with me."

Shepard smiled in response.

. . .

Shepard and Tali exited the Normandy's elevator on the top deck, where their cabin was. They stood in the small antechamber that separated the elevator with their quarters. As Shepard approached the door and tapped its green, holographic control pad so as to open it, a decontamination cycle initiated from the sterilization unit on the ceiling, that had been installed earlier that very day. He had completely forgotten about it.

"What's going on?" Tali abruptly asked, looking around as a plane of light descended down the antechamber. This was the first time she had come up to their quarters since Shepard and Mordin had installed the device, so she was surprised by the strange occurrence.

"I completely forgot," Shepard said. "I had the idea to install a sterilizer into this small area. You know, to keep our cabin cleaner for you. I talked with Mordin about it, and he thought it was a good idea. Commented it eliminated all variables besides the germs my own body outputs. He helped me install it, in fact."

The decontamination cycle finished, and the door opened. But Tali didn't step inside, she just stood there, staring at Shepard.

"It's supposed to make our cabin like a linked suit environment," Shepard mumbled in a somewhat awkward way. He wasn't sure what to make of Tali's lack of a reaction.

Finally, she spoke, "You… really did this, for me?" It was obvious by the way she spoke that she was very touched.

"Of course I did, Tali," Shepard answered, "I know suited life is difficult—I hope this makes things a little easier on you."

"This, this is so… thank you, Shepard. Thank you…"

Shepard said, "I'm really glad you're happy with it, Tali, but it's not that big of a deal. It wasn't hard to install, and we had a spare airlock sterilizer in storage."

"Yes it is," she responded. "You care so much about me. You showed it today more than ever. You stood up for me during the trial. You fought by my side on the Alarei, and helped me find my father. You listened to my wishes when I asked you not to show the admirals that evidence. And you refused to tell the admirals about the Haestrom message I had sent you."

Tali paused for a moment, and continued, "And now, I find out you did this, and inconvenienced yourself just to make our quarters a better home for me."

Shepard smiled at her and said, "Waiting a few seconds to enter the cabin is hardly an inconvenience, especially if it's better for your health. Come on, let's go inside; I want to get out of this heavy equipment."

Shepard went inside. Tali stood in the antechamber a brief moment longer. She looked up at the sterilization unit on the ceiling, then looked at Shepard as he approached his clothes and equipment locker. She stepped inside as well.

She sat down on their couch, and quietly looked at Shepard as he began to take his gear off. She was in a pensive mood, her mind reflecting on everything that had happened throughout the day; on everything that Shepard had done for her.

Shepard removed the different sections of his combat armor, until he was finally left in just the clothes he wore underneath: a regular crewmember shirt and pants.

"I'm going to take a quick shower," he said as he grabbed a towel and some fresh clothes from his locker. It was common for him to shower after missions that involved combat. Between his combat armor, heavy weapon, and assortment of standard weapons, he carried a great deal of weight. The constant movement and running involved with combat always caused him to get sweaty easily.

Shepard walked toward the private bathroom of their quarters briskly, wanting to be quick with his shower so as to rejoin Tali soon. The door closed behind him, and there was complete silence in the room, aside from the typical background hum of the Normandy. Tali now, for the first time since the whole ordeal with the trial began, found herself alone. She leaned back against the backrest of the couch, and stared blankly at an upwards angle. Her mind was full of the day's events, and she pondered them, reflecting on the day.

It had started out normal enough; she had woken up with Shepard, to the sound of music playing from the holographic alarm clock next to the bed. They awoke in a spooning position, with Shepard behind Tali, his arms around her. After briefly sharing their morning together, they went about their different tasks aboard the ship.

It wasn't long into the day when she had received that terrible message telling her that she was being tried for treason. Just remembering how she felt after reading it, made her feel sick in her stomach. She also remembered how only a short time after reading it, Shepard coincidentally came to visit her. It had been a great relief to tell him about it.

Then after a few painful hours of worry and concern, they had reached the flotilla, and the nature of her trial was revealed. Everything she heard from the admiralty was like a stab at her heart, and then on the Alarei, the bitterness she had been experiencing instantly multiplied a hundred fold, as she kneeled before the corpse of her father, and saw that even in his final words, he refused to be the kind of father she longed for.

The entire day had been exhausting, with bad news unrelentingly falling upon her; every minute that passed seemed to make things worse. But there was a sudden moment of reprieve, of happiness and joy. It was when Shepard stood before the admiralty and defended her with an amazing righteous fury. Positive words and accolades poured out from his heart as he passionately defended her in the absence of presenting true evidence. Tali had never heard anyone speak like that on her behalf.

Finally, after all she suffered, the negativity of the day had come to a halt with Shepard's speech.

Until Koris spoke, and everything utterly collapsed. In such a short manner of time, she found herself exiled—she would never see her people again. Her lifelong home was now gone.

Tali sighed, and tilted her head back slightly. Just then her eyes caught the window on the ceiling of the cabin. Outside of it she could see numerous ships of the Migrant Fleet hovering above. She realized that this was the last time she would ever see the flotilla.

Her eyes watered slightly, but not enough to give birth to tears. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes. She took great solace in knowing that though she had lost the Migrant Fleet, she still at least had a home. A home she loved.

She whispered quietly to herself, _"…vas Normandy."_ That was her name now, and testament to the fact that the Normandy had truly become her home. Shepard was now truly her captain, yet so much more.

Raan's words echoed in Tali's mind; Shepard was all she had now. But that was alright, he was all she needed. Since the day they met, he had always been there for her, and this day had been no exception. From the moment it had started, he had been there with her, helping her in every possible way. He had shared this day with her, and all the negativity that came with it. Back on the airlock, it even seemed as if he was more upset and troubled over her exile than she was.

Tali felt tired and weary from all the distress and agony the day had subjected her to. Both her father's pathetic message and her exile had left her with a distant feeling of being unloved, deep in her core. She wanted reprieve from it; she wanted to feel happy. If there was anything good to be taken from the entire day, it was the fact that it was now at this moment, as she considered everything Shepard had done for her, more obvious than ever how much he loved her. It's always easy to tell a person that you love them during pleasant times, but Shepard, by facing all the tribulations of the day at her side, _showed_ her he loved her.

And now, upon realizing all this, Tali came to a decision; one that caused a subtle tingle in her stomach. She decided she was going to show him how much she loved him.

Tali stood up, and initiated both an immune-booster shot and a high-dosage antibiotic injection from her suit. She then walked over to the small desk next to the couch, which had been her own private desk since she moved into the cabin, and opened one of its drawers. Inside was a small bottle that contained herbal supplements; the same kind that she had purchased two years ago.


	21. I Got Better, Shepard, I Got You

_**Note:** The first section of this chapter contains some sexual content. It's not terribly explicit, but it's probably beyond the scope of a "T" rating._

* * *

_**I Got Better, Shepard. I Got You**_

"What a day," Shepard silently mumbled to himself with a sigh, as he turned on the shower. Hot water sprayed unto his skin, and he began to wash himself, quickly, wanting to rejoin Tali in the cabin as soon as possible.

The warmth of the water was soothing after the stress of the day, but his mind was still very active over everything that had occurred. He couldn't believe how everything had fallen apart earlier. There had been such an intense feeling of relief when Tali was found innocent, but it was utterly shattered in mere minutes. Shepard found himself wishing she had been found guilty for what happened on the Alarei; it would have been less painful than being exiled immediately after the emotional high of the initial exoneration.

Shepard thought back to the original Normandy. He had spent so many hours listening to Tali talk about her people, both before and after they declared their feelings for one another. _It was so cute, the flotilla was all she talked about_, he thought to himself; the pleasant memory gave birth to a little smile, which quickly faded, as his mind moved back to the tragedy of the day.

After only a few minutes, Shepard finished with his quick shower and turned off the water, proceeding to grab his towel. _I may have failed her, but I'm going to do everything I can to make this ship a better home for her_, he thought as he dried himself. _Maybe encourage her to put some cloth or tapestries on the walls of our cabin, like quarians do with their living spaces. That might make her feel more at home here._

After feeling sufficiently dry, he put on the clothes he intended to wear for the night: a pair of pants, boxers, and an undershirt. He walked toward the bathroom door. _Yeah, some decorative cloth on the walls is a good idea. I think I remember seeing a store on the Citadel that sold some nice_—

The door opened, and Shepard immediately noticed something was off about the cabin: the lighting. As he stepped through the door, he saw that every light in the room was turned off, except the aquarium's internal lamps. The aquarium, that took up a large section of the left wall, filled the entire cabin with a dim, yet beautiful light-blue light. Soft, blurry shadows stretched from all objects away from the glowing fish tank.

The constant stream of bubbles within the aquarium caused many small waves and ripples on the surface of its water. With all other light sources in the room turned off, Shepard could clearly see the caustic reflections of the turbulent water, shining on the floor, perpetually flowing in a wavy yet consistent pattern.

Shepard walked past his desk, but stopped at the top of the two steps that led down to lounging part of the cabin, his attention completely captured.

Tali sat on the edge of the bed, her hands at her sides, lightly gripping the covers of the bed. She looked different than normal. The decorative purple cloth that adorned her suit, the numerous belts and accessories that hung off her body, and the flexible, elongated hexagon-patterned body armor she wore over the suit, were all missing. She sat there in just her actual enviro-suit, with her uncovered helmet and mask still on.

The light of the aquarium, though dim, was still sufficient for Shepard to see her clearly enough. The darker blue light of the mass effect field around the Normandy, visible through the window on the ceiling, also helped illuminate the area around the bed.

As Shepard stepped down and approached, Tali stood up and walked toward him. Shepard looked at her faintly glowing eyes as she approached, but couldn't help noticing her body as well. Without the decorative cloth or various accessories, her snug enviro-suit allowed for a perfect, smooth silhouette of her body. She stopped right in front of him, and their hands met. They stood half way between the steps, and their bed.

"I wanted to have some music playing," she said, "But there wasn't anything that seemed… appropriate, in your sound system."

Shepard's eyes were relaxed as he looked on at hers, and he had a warm smile on his face. He wasn't _completely_ sure what all this was about, but he had a good feeling he knew. He asked, in a coy, yet smooth voice, "Appropriate for what?"

Tali didn't respond. She simply stepped backwards, keeping her eyes fixed on Shepard, and tugged at his hands. She guided him to the end of the bed, where they both sat down, right next to each other; Tali on the left, and Shepard on the right. Their hands separated as they sat, but their eyes never parted from each other.

"While you were in the shower," Tali said, some nervousness just barely noticeable in her voice, "I thought about today… and how you were there with me, through it all."

The subtle smile on Shepard's face widened ever so slightly.

"If there was anything good about today," Tali continued, "It was… I saw just much you care for me. It made me realize how important you are to me. I trust you, Shepard… I have for so long." She paused for a moment, "Back on the original Normandy, I did some research for, um—there's something I've wanted us to do, for a long time now," She paused again, inhaled, and concluded. "I want to forget about everything bad that happened today. I want to feel your skin on mine... I want to share myself with you, and for you to share yourself with me. I want us to be together…"

Shepard felt a light chill in his spine from her words. He took Tali's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He said, "That sounds wonderful, Tali… but are you sure you're ready for this?"

"I've never been so sure of anything in my life..." she whispered in response, and then took both of Shepard's hands in hers, and brought them up to her mask, guiding them to the release mechanism that would detach it from the helmet. No more words were needed to be said; just from the confidence of her gesture, it was clear she was sure she wanted this.

The mask unlocked, and Shepard carefully removed it from her helmet. It always made him happy to see her face, but there was something particularly special about tonight. Maybe it was the dim blue lighting, maybe it was the emotion of the moment, or maybe it was the look of love and want in Tali's eyes, but at this moment, she looked more beautiful than ever.

"Now, the helmet…" she whispered, and once again guided his hands, placing them on the helmet release mechanism at the top of her neck. Due to the nature of its design, the helmet couldn't be removed unless the mask had been taken off first.

Shepard unlocked the helmet and detached it from the flexible, pale-yellow gorget that protected Tali's neck. The helmet came off, and was placed on the ground, next to the mask. Shepard just now realized, that this was the first time he ever actually removed her mask and helmet; all the other times she had been without them, it was her who had taken them off.

Tali then leaned in closely to Shepard, and pressed her lips with his; the first kiss of the night. After their lips parted, with her eyes fixed on Shepard's, she whispered in a quiet, sultry voice, "Now, the suit…"

Shepard felt butterflies in his stomach. It was a simple line, yet it registered as the single most erotic thing he had ever heard from her.

"You want me to… take off your suit?" Shepard asked, more for confirmation than clarification.

"Yes, Shepard…" Tali answered, "I want you to remove my suit. I want you to free me of it tonight…"

To virtually all sapient races, the act of undressing a partner is considered to be a very intimate and sensual gesture. But the significance of the action, among quarians, is far beyond that of any other race. To a quarian, an enviro-suit is more than just clothing. It is the key to life; an extension of their own physiology. Allowing another to remove one's enviro-suit communicated a profound feeling of trust and love, well beyond what members of any other race could truly comprehend.

With a smile, Shepard said, "I have to confess, I've never undressed a quarian before—I might need a little help."

Tali stood up, and as she reached behind her neck as she whispered, "Let me get you started…" She unlocked a seal on the back of her gorget, and it suddenly became loose. She let it drop on the floor. She then took Shepard's hands and gestured for him to stand by pulling on them. He stood, and they kissed; Tali then placed her arms around Shepard's waist, and whispered, "There's a seal along my back…"

Quarian enviro-suits were made up of several different sections, each one capable of being removed or opened independently. This allowed easy access to any part of the body, without the need for removing the entire thing. However, along the back was a major seal that ran the length of the spine. Opening it would cause the entire torso section to become loose, and allow the whole suit to be removed as one peace, like a diver's wetsuit.

While still standing in front of Tali, Shepard positioned his arms around her, and began blindly searching Tali's back with his hands for some kind of release mechanism. Tali giggled as his hands incorrectly fumbled about on her back, and teased, "What's wrong, Captain Shepard? You found Ilos, but you can't find a simple suit-seal release?"

Shepard chuckled at her teasing, but didn't say anything. Tali then said, "It's in the lower back…"

Immediately, Shepard lowered his hands along her back. Shortly after, he felt a small, solid mechanism imbedded into the pliant material of her suit. Tali whispered, "That's it…"

Shepard fiddled with the small mechanism momentarily, and suddenly the seal unlocked. Her suit split open along the length of her spine, and the entire part that covered her torso suddenly became loose. Her back was now exposed.

With the back seal opened, Shepard took a moment to slip his hands under the loose suit material, and caress the soft, incredibly sensitive skin of her back. Upon feeling Shepard's hands stroking her skin, Tali closed her eyes and exhaled softly from the pleasure his warm hands gave her.

Shepard then took a step back, and placed his hands on her shoulders. He proceeded to pull forward and down on the suit, and pealed it off her torso and arms, leaving the entire upper half of it hanging at her waist. The enviro-suit was still snuggly wrapped around all of her lower body, but she was now fully exposed from the waist and up.

Tali had kept her eyes closed as Shepard pealed down the top of her suit. She felt sudden tingles throughout her skin, as well as chills along her spine, as her upper body became exposed. It was a deeply emotional moment for Tali; this was the point of no return. She knew that soon, she would be completely naked and exposed to Shepard, and then they would be on the bed, their bodies entangled, making love to one another. She also felt a little cold; the suit had always been perfectly climate controlled, and the cooler air of the room against her oversensitive skin was something she wasn't accustomed to… but it also made the anticipation of feeling Shepard's own warm body against her, even more exciting.

Shepard took a moment to look at Tali and admire her now exposed upper body. Her breasts were beautiful. They were fairly average in size, but they had a perfect shape; they were perky, but noticeably soft. Below her breasts he could see the subtle impression of her bottom ribs pressing against her skin, and leading downward were the soft, very subtle vertical lines of her abdomen muscles; the middle line ran through her belly button. Her entire upper body was very thin, petite, and beautiful; which really came as no surprise, thanks to her snug enviro-suit.

Tali's eyes opened, and they locked with Shepard's. Tali smiled at him, her face doing little to hide that she felt shy and bashful, but also very happy. Shepard leaned in, wrapped his arms around her bare upper body, and embraced her for a kiss. Their lips separated only a few seconds in, as Tali grabbed Shepard's undershirt and quickly, eagerly, pulled it off him and tossed it aside. Their kiss then continued, and Tali tightly wrapped her arms around Shepard's body, hungrily kissing him; her passion fueled by the ecstasy of feeling another's warm skin on hers for the first time of her life.

Their breathing intensified as their lips made love, and they were soon on the bed; Tali on her back, with Shepard on top. Tali began to feel Shepard's hands gripping at the waist section of her enviro-suit, eagerly tugging down on it. Their lips then suddenly parted as Shepard pulled away from her, and immediately after, she felt the rest of her enviro-suit be pulled down her hips, down her legs, and finally off her feet. Tali now lay on the bed, completely naked and exposed, still breathing heavily from their passionate kissing, but eagerly wanting it to resume.

Shepard got back on the bed and crawled up over her. Their lips pressed once more for a brief period, and then separated as Shepard began to slowly move down her body. His hands caressed and groped her breasts as his mouth moved downwards, leaving a trail of kisses and touches of his tongue down the center of her torso. Tali moaned during his descent, and her body slowly wriggled from the pleasure of his hands on her chest, and mouth on her body.

Shepard's head finally stopped between her legs, and Tali instantly arched her back and firmly gripped the covers of the bed, as she moaned loudly from the sudden burst of pleasure from Shepard's lips and tongue on her.

"_Ohhh… Keelah…"_ she moaned out.

Tali's eyes were closed, and she breathed heavily as Shepard pleasured her; her head occasionally rolling from side to side. After a short while, the pleasure came to a pause as she felt Shepard's hands move away from her breasts, at the same time as his mouth parted from her. Tali kept her eyes closed, and her breathing was still heavy, but it began to relax from the pause. She could tell from the movements of the bed that he had gotten up. And she could tell from the soft shuffling sound of clothes rubbing against skin, that he was taking off his pants and boxers.

She bit her lip, eagerly anticipating what she knew was coming. The bed then moved from the weight of his body on it once again, and she felt him crawl up, until he was right over her once again. Shepard began to kiss and nuzzle her neck; she tilted her head in the other direction so as to give him better access. She placed her hands on his back, and just then, he whispered sensually in her ear, _"…Ready?"_

Tali responded with moan of confirmation, and eagerly nodded her head; the intensity of the moment was too much for her speak.

Shepard placed his hands under her thighs and spread her legs slightly, while he properly positioned himself between them. And then, a sudden, loud gasp escaped Tali's mouth; Shepard and her were now physically joined together. She threw her arms around him, and tightly gripped his back with her six fingers, embracing him as intensely as she could; each of her nails sharply poking his skin.

Shepard was well aware that this was Tali's first intimate experience. And he knew he had to be very gentle with her; as gentle as she needed him to be. He was going to pay attention to everything her body communicated. Her movements, her breathing, and especially her moans; he would pay attention to all of them so he could give her exactly as little or as much as she needed. He wanted this experience to be perfect for her.

Shepard waited a short while, and once Tali's body had relaxed from the initial entry, their lovemaking finally commenced. Shepard proceeded in a slow, careful pace. Whenever Tali's moans and body movements indicated that she was both comfortable and in pleasure, Shepard would slightly intensify his movements.

They proceeded to make love in that way, with Shepard on top of Tali, for what felt like a long, blissful time. Tali became comfortable and relaxed with the experienced, and they shifted into another position. Tali was now kneeled on the bed on all fours, with Shepard behind her. Tali didn't hold herself up with her hands for very long; instead, she lowered body downward, with her forearms resting flat against the bed, holding the weight of her upper body.

Tali found the new position to be very pleasurable, but there was something important missing; it lacked intimacy. She could barely feel any of Shepard's skin on hers. She couldn't feel his breathing; she couldn't look at her face; and she couldn't even touch him. Those were all the things she wanted most right now; the pleasure was secondary.

Tali crawled forward, separating from Shepard. She then turned around, standing on her knees on the bed. Now facing Shepard, she moved closer, and pounced unto him, pushing him back so that he lay on his back. He chuckled quietly from her sudden action, and Tali crawled up on top of him, placing one leg on each side of his body. She brought her body low, parallel to his, and eagerly, hungrily kissed his lips.

After shifting their hips momentarily, their union continued, this time with Tali primarily in charge of the pace. It was slow, unsteady, and awkward at first, but it didn't matter. This was exactly what she wanted. She was on top of Shepard, facing him, and feeling as much of his skin as she wanted.

They continued their intercourse in that fashion for an indeterminable amount of time; it was too blissful for either of them to keep track. Sometimes Tali would hold her body up with her hands on Shepard's chest, so that she was perpendicular to him, but most of the time she preferred to stay low to him. Keeping herself low allowed her to feel the skin of their bodies grinding and rubbing together, as well as kiss often.

Caught up in the pleasure and passion of the moment, Shepard briefly had his head leaned back, and his eyes closed. But then, Tali's hip movements began to slow down, and came to a stop. She remained straddled on Shepard, hovering above him by holding herself up with her hands on his chest, but she had stopped all movement.

Curious about the sudden pause, Shepard tilted his head back up and opened his eyes, focusing his attention on Tali's face, which was close to his. The light around the bed was fairly dim, and with her back to the aquarium, it was difficult for him to clearly see her facial expressions. But he could see her eyes were wide, and she was gazing at him, with an intense, seemingly pensive expression on her face.

Although they hadn't finished, all the emotion of the moment had caught up to her, and had overwhelmed her; she had to pause their lovemaking to let her mind process all this. In all her life, she had never experienced such powerful emotions, or such pleasure. She had never felt so deeply and intimately connected to another person; her love of the man just below her was so intense, she simply needed to stop for a moment.

She leaned in close, and placed a lightly trembling hand on Shepard's face. Her eyes watered, and a tear began to flow down her cheek; and then one on the other. She opened her lips, hesitated briefly, and spoke.

"I love you…" she muttered in a whisper, her eyes unblinking and locked with his. Her face briefly twitched from a frown to a weak smile. "I love you so much, Shepard, I… just love you, so much—I don't have the words..."

The concerned look that had been on Shepard's face since they had stopped, completely melted away and turned into a warm, loving smile as she spoke. He brought his own hand up to her face, and gently wiped away the two tear streams that flowed from her eyes to her jaw line.

"I love you, too," he whispered in response. "You are the brightest point of my life; the most wonderful thing I have found among the stars. I love you, Tali. More than… more than anything."

They embraced each other tightly, and held each other for a long time. They then shared a deeply passionate, intimate kiss. As it ended, a series of several small pecks between their lips proceeded. The happiness and joy of the moment almost felt overwhelming.

But, it wasn't long before their passion flared back up again, far greater than before, and they continued with their intimate intercourse; their pace much faster and intense. Tali in particular proceeded with a greatly increased hunger and fervor.

It didn't take much longer before their pleasure escalated to its apex, and finally climaxed to the sounds of intense moaning and heavy breathing.

. . .

The cabin was quiet, still dimly lit only by the soft light of the aquarium, and the mass effect field beyond the window above the bed. Shepard and Tali lay cuddled together, relaxed and at peace, yet wide awake. Shepard was on his back with his head pressed against a pillow, while Tali lay snuggled against him on his left. Her head rested against the top of his chest, while Shepard's left arm wrapped around her shoulders. Tali's hand was on the center of Shepard's chest, ever so slowly caressing it with her fingertips, in downward strokes. Shepard's upper body was mostly uncovered, but Tali had the sheets up to her neck; the cool air of the Normandy's interior still felt cold to her, especially after their intimacy, which had left a very thin layer of sweat on her skin.

They had been lying together in much the same position for a long time, completely silent, as they lay enjoying each other's presence in the blissful afterglow of the beautiful experience they shared together. Neither was sure how much time had passed since they finished; it felt like half an hour, but their perception of time was unreliable. Time simply didn't matter.

Tali could feel Shepard's heartbeat. Every once in a while it felt in sync with her own, but since his heart beat at an imperceptibly slower rate than hers, often times it was beating either right before hers, or after. Tali also found herself feeling slightly thirsty, but she wouldn't dare interrupt this moment to get some water. It was too enjoyable to lay naked in bed, feeling nothing against her skin but the refreshing, high thread-count sheets, and the comforting warmth of Shepard's body.

In the time that passed since their lovemaking concluded, they had said very little to one another. No words over their amazing experience were necessary, nor would any do it justice. Their minds were active in indulging in the afterglow of their intimacy, racing from thought to thought, unfocused and free.

Finally, the silence of the moment ended. It was interrupted with the sound of Shepard quietly chuckling to himself. Tali nuzzled his neck, kissed it, and asked in a relaxed voice, "What's so funny, my love?"

"Something occurred to me," he said, the amusement of his chuckle still present in his voice, "I read this book once—it's a really old book, well before my people even had space travel—called 'War of the Worlds.'"

"Mhmm?

"It's about Earth getting attacked by aliens."

"That doesn't sound very funny, Shepard" Tali said in a playful, sarcastic tone.

"Well, in the book, humanity is unable to stop the aliens—their technology is too advanced. However, after it seemed like the aliens had won, they all start to miraculously die off."

"How come?"

"They lacked immune systems, so they weren't able to survive on the planet." Shepard turned his head and looked right at Tali. Teasingly, he asked, "It wasn't you guys who attacked England in it, was it?"

Tali playfully slapped Shepard's chest and said, "I don't know what 'England' is, but I assure you, my people know better than to be out of our suits in a strange environment."

With the arm he had around her shoulders, Shepard gently rolled her on top of him. Tali held herself up with her hands, hovering right above him. With a smirk, Shepard said, "That sounds kind of funny, coming from a naked quarian…" His hands caressed and rubbed Tali's lower back and hips as he spoke.

Tali lowered herself so that her body rested on top of Shepard and said, "I'm not in a strange environment. I'm in my home…" she paused, and kissed Shepard's lips, "…but I suppose I can put my suit back on, if you're going to make fun of quarian immune systems…"

"Oh come on, you know I wasn't making fun."

"And just how would I know that? It sounded like it to me…" Tali teased.

"Because, I love you too much to make fun of your race…" Shepard answered, and gave her a quick kiss on her lips.

"Mmm… good answer," Tali whispered in response. She then rolled off his body, and snuggled in closely, now at his right side. She nuzzled her face into his neck, and sighed happily.

They both went back to simply enjoying the presence of one another in the peaceful silence of their cabin. A short while passed before the silence was again interrupted, this time by Tali.

"Hey, Shepard?" she asked.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I was wondering… what you said earlier, on the Rayya, about us getting the homeworld back. Did you… do you really think it will happen?"

Shepard thought for a moment on how to best answer her question. He wished he could just tell her yes, and say that it was a guaranteed thing. But he knew Tali was a smart, pragmatic girl; she'd know it would be too much of a big promise to take seriously. "Tali, if there's any way—any way at all—for it to happen, preferably one that doesn't involve war, we _will_ find it."

Tali cuddled in slightly closer, and gave his neck a soft kiss. She then said in a quiet voice, "Tell me it'll happen. I know how big of a promise it is, and how impossible it must seem to keep, but… I just want to hear it. Please…"

Shepard gave her a squeeze with his arm, and did as she asked. "We'll get your homeworld back, Tali. I promise."

Tali loved hearing those words, deciding to completely ignore the voice in her head that told her it was a promise she shouldn't expect to be kept. "Thank you."

A brief moment passed in silence, and Tali said, "I would love to have a house on the homeworld, right on the coast, where I could see the ocean every day."

Shepard smiled. "You like the ocean, Tali?"

"I love it," she answered. "Virmire was the only time I've ever seen it, but… Keelah, it was so amazing—so beautiful." She paused a moment, and continued, "It reminds me of space, in some ways."

"Really?"

"Yes. You look at the ocean, and it's so vast… it seems to go on forever," she said. "You can't live in it, or even just traverse it, without some kind of vessel; just like space."

"Hm… that's true."

"But at the same time," Tali continued, "It's also so different from space. Space feels so empty, and devoid of life… and yet the ocean is so full of it. There is also no noise in space, but the ocean… the noise the ocean makes is so beautiful, and it never seems to stop. Oh Keelah, how I would love to fall asleep every night to that beautiful, hissing roar the ocean makes… to the sound of waves moving and crashing again and again."

Shepard let out a quiet, relaxed sigh, and said, "That really does sound wonderful, Tali."

After a short hesitation, Tali asked, "If… you know, we succeed in everything—in stopping the Reapers, saving the galaxy, getting my homeworld back—would you… um, want to live like that? On my homeworld, in a house on the coast… with me?"

Shepard rolled unto his side, so that he could directly look at Tali, face to face. With a smile, he said, "You mean retire to a beachfront house, with the love of my life?" His smile widened, "That sounds like paradise. I would love it."

Tali felt overjoyed to hear he liked the suggestion, and she kissed him right after his response; a long, affectionate kiss, supplemented by their hands rubbing and caressing each other's body. Once their lips parted, Tali nestled back into Shepard's arms, and rested her head against the top of his chest.

Another period of silence passed; this time it was interrupted by Shepard. "You know… when I left Earth and joined the Alliance, it was because I wanted to get away from my life on Earth. I wanted something better; a better life, where I could feel happy and at peace.

"I never thought it would be waiting for me on the quarian homeworld."


	22. I'll Look Into This

_**I'll Look Into This**_

_"Hey, wake up,"_ a voice whispered gently.

Tali's eyes opened, and she turned her head to look over her shoulder. Into focus came Shepard's face, and she felt his hand on her bare shoulder.

"Hey," Tali said happily, though her voice was noticeably sleepy. She turned and rolled to her other side so as to face him, since he sat on the edge of the bed. He was wearing the clothes he had briefly worn the previous night, an undershirt and some pants, while Tali was still laying naked in the bed, under the covers. "What time is it?"

"It's pretty early," Shepard answered. "Sorry I woke you, but I was a little concerned—you dozed off last night without putting your suit back on."

Tali yawned, which ended in a soft moan. She then said, "It's bad for me to be out of my suit for so long, but I was so comfortable last night…"

Just then Tali realized she didn't feel as sick as she had expected. Her throat was sore, she could tell she had a fever, and the pressure in her sinuses gave her a headache, but it seemed like a minor reaction considering the several hours she spent outside of the suit.

Thinking back, it made sense that her reaction wasn't particularly punishing. There was a lot in her favor last night: she took antibiotics, an immuno-booster, and herbal supplements, after all. But there were other major factors too, such as the fact that Shepard showered just before their intimacy, and the newly installed sterilization unit in the antechamber, which ensured that her system _only_ really had to contend with the foreign presence of Shepard's body. Still, while she logically knew why her reaction was relatively minor, it didn't take away from her feeling pleasantly surprised.

"How do you feel?" Shepard asked as he delicately placed a hand on Tali's face, and caressed her cheek.

Tali put her hand on top of Shepard's, kissed his palm, and answered with a smile, "Happy. Loved, and in love…"

Shepard smile back at her and said, "You know that's not what I meant." While she hadn't commented on her health, which is what Shepard was worried about, her response did communicate to him that she probably wasn't feeling very ill.

"Much better than I expected," Tali answered. "I'm still sick, but considering that we… well, you know…" she grinned, "I'm grateful it's not worse."

"That's great news," Shepard said, and then laid down next to her, with his arm around her. She instinctively rested her head on his shoulder as she cuddled in closely. "Do you think you'll adapt to my germs?" he asked. "I always feel guilty when you get sick because of me."

"Don't, Shepard," she responded, nestling in closer against him, "I love the time I spend without my mask on with you, and it's always worth the reaction I get. Last night especially was… it was just amazing. Just thinking about it makes me feel tingles." Her comment was literally true—thinking about the previous night gave her a sudden, pleasant chill along her neck, and the feeling of butterflies in her stomach.

"But to answer your question," Tali continued, "yes, I'll adapt to you; I've even noticed my reactions getting a little less severe each time I've taken my mask off. I'm technically immune to all your germs, so it's just a matter of my immune system getting used to their presence. The sterilizer will help a lot with that, too, since it means no outside bacteria gets in here."

"I'm really glad to hear that," Shepard said. "It's good to know that thing will help."

After their words, a brief period of silence came upon them, as they lay next to each other, staring up at the ceiling. Tali then interrupted it with a disappointed sigh, and said, "I should probably put my suit back on, though… the medicine I took to boost my immune system has worn off by now—my reaction will get a lot worse if I stay like this."

"I understand," Shepard responded. After an interval, he looked right at Tali, and with a sly smile he asked, "So… do you need any help putting your suit back on?"

"No, I don't need any help…" Tali answered lightheartedly, paused for a moment, and continued, "But that doesn't mean I don't want it…" She smiled back, and gave him a kiss.

. . .

It was the following day, and Tali sat in a cab, zooming through the air in one of the Citadel's skyways, alongside various other cars and transports. The vast metropolis that existed on the ward beneath her spanned far into the distance, and in the sky above she could see the other four wards, each one covered in an illuminated grid of streets, with twinkling lights slowly streaming above them. Off in the distance in front of her, above the horizon of the city, was the great ring of the Presidium, which held all five wards together. The Citadel existed within a nebula, which was illuminated by the nearby star, Widow. The hazy, pale gray fog that served as the backdrop of the Citadel almost made it seem like the space station existed within some planet's atmosphere.

Tali was by herself, and in the seat next to her was a large bag from the _Nelida Fabric and Cloth_ store. Inside it was a rolled and folded, six by four foot sized tapestry. Embroidered unto it was a beautiful design of swirls and curves, all in varying in sizes, oriented in flowing patterns. The colors of it ranged from very light blue to almost indigo, all intertwined and mixed together. She had seen many beautiful fabrics and tapestries in the store, but Tali loved this one since the moment she first saw it; it reminded her of a clear blue, yet slightly turbulent ocean.

Shepard had recalled Tali's past descriptions of the small cubicles that quarians used as living spaces, and yesterday he had encouraged her to purchase some decorative cloth for their cabin. _"I want you to feel at home here,"_ was what he said. Tali affirmed that it wasn't necessary, that she felt at home already, but she couldn't deny she liked the idea. Something to cover the dull, metallic walls of their cabin—especially the barren wall behind their bed—sounded nice.

The fabrics quarians used to decorate their living spaces were rarely anywhere near as elaborate as what she had purchased. Typically they were only solid colors, or maybe with some simple patterns. It felt rather indulgent for her to purchase something so richly detailed to hang on a wall; not only were such fabrics rare aboard the flotilla, but the nicer fabrics were often reserved for suit decoration. It was considered selfish to use them to decorate living areas. Still, she couldn't ignore that she found it beautiful, and it appealed to her greatly.

Tali's mind was clear as she gazed out at the vastness of the Citadel ward she was currently flying overhead of, often passing tall skyscrapers which gave split second interruptions to the vistas at her sides. In the peace and tranquility of the cab ride, her mind was free to wander anywhere it wanted. She started to think about the events of the last couple days.

She had gotten exiled from her people the day before yesterday. The passionate, intimate experience she had had with Shepard shortly after the trial did a good job in soothing the pain she felt from the tragedy of the day, but now that some time had passed and the bliss of the experience had faded, her mind had been wandering back to the two tremendous losses she suffered: her people, and her father.

It was hard, believing that she would never see the fleet again. She would never walk amid the crowded deck of a quarian vessel, hearing the loud, yet comforting noise of old air filters and engines rumbling in the background, or the murmurs of people conversing in her native language. But even that knowledge seemed bearable to her. After all, she still had a home, with someone she loved deeply and wanted to spend her life with. And there was the small comfort of the possibility of one day being allowed back among her people; an exile wasn't necessarily permanent. If she could do something amazing for them, something to prove herself… it _was_ possible for her exile to one day end. It didn't seem likely to happen, but the mere possibility gave her a small spark of optimism.

Her father, however, was something she had truly lost forever, and was her greatest source of grief. Unlike the exile, which had the possibility of one day being undone, there was no way for him to ever be brought back. She had to cope with knowing that she would never again see him, hear his voice, or talk with him. He had inadequacies as parent, and Tali often wished he gave her the affection a father was supposed to give his daughter, but that didn't change the fact that he _was_ her father, and her only remaining biological family. He had helped raise her, and all the skills she had learned from him were what allowed her to be of help in stopping the Reapers. Despite his shortcomings as a parent, she would always have a profound love for him, evident more than ever by the fact that she preferred to be sacrifice to exile, than have his memory tarnished.

Tali's eyes began to sting lightly; that familiar, subtle sting one feels on one's eyes just before they water up, and give birth to tears. She blinked a few times, clearing her eyes, keeping the tears from forming.

She wished he were still alive. She wished that he knew of her relationship with Shepard; she regretted that he died before she could tell him. It was unlikely he would be very happy about it, but that didn't matter—Tali knew beyond a doubt that Shepard was the man she wanted to share her life with, and it would have only been a matter of time before her dad could see it. It now seemed impossible for her dad to never accept Shepard. How could he not?

A little smile appeared on Tali's face, slowly building up to an inevitable laugh, as she thought of a hypothetical situation of her father meeting Shepard. She imagined herself with a cough and a congested voice—the reaction of a previous intimate experience with Shepard—and her father noticing her illness, as well as the subtle nuances in the body language inadvertently produced by two people in love. And then him going into a fit of rage, as he concluded that Shepard was responsible for his daughter's illness.

Tali laughed softly to herself, imagining her father yelling at him, maybe even taking a swing at him. Such an experience would be frightening and dramatic in person, but as a spectator observing with her mind's eye, she found it humorous; Shepard trying to calm him down while being yelled at. Tali sighed to herself, and ended the funny mental image. Her mind then wandered to what Shepard was doing right now.

She was a little worried about him. They had come to the Citadel to help out both Thane and Garrus with some personal issues. Shepard had gone with the two of them several hours ago to take care of their problems, hoping to keep them focused on their mission to stop the Collectors. She wasn't too familiar with what Thane's problem was—something about his son getting in trouble. But she knew well that Garrus had a burning vendetta against the one who had betrayed his team back on Omega.

She wasn't particularly worried about their safety; those three were possibly the best fighters on the Normandy, each one an amazingly skilled sniper. It would take an army to best them in a battle, and even then, it would no doubt be a pyrrhic victory. She was worried about what could happen if they did find the person Garrus was after. Would Shepard really let Garrus kill him? She didn't want to think about it—despite what that person did, and the people that died because of his actions, she didn't want to imagine Shepard letting Garrus kill someone in cold blood.

Normally she wouldn't worry about such things. In all her travels and missions with Shepard, she observed him consistently spare people's lives; even the lives of dangerous people, that arguably deserved to die. It was his nature to be merciful. Perhaps his deeply embedded belief of having received a second chance at life, inclined him to want others to have the same. But despite having seen numerous examples of his compassion, she couldn't ignore that it was Shepard who suggested she not come along; was it because he didn't want her to see them kill the traitor?

As Tali pondered this, her mind also started to consider that she had noticed Shepard seemed to have changed since when she met him, over two years ago. As she got closer to him, and their relationship grew, he seemed to become more prone to anger; more likely to lose his composure. Never against her, of course, but at external sources. It reached its apex the day before last, when in the Normandy's airlock, she witnessed his frightening outburst. So much was his anger that it had to be unleashed, and unleashed it was, in the form of an assault against the airlock wall. Such loss of control was something she wouldn't have imagined from him. And before that, were his particularly hostile words against the Admiralty.

It suddenly became clear to Tali, that it wasn't so much that he had actually changed, but his behavior was only different in matters that concerned her. With their relationship having blossomed, he had become particularly overprotective of her. For a brief moment, she remembered back to when she had the argument with Navigator Pressly, and how Shepard stayed relatively neutral in regards to it. But now, she wondered, what would happen if someone showed racism against her, now that they were so close?

A small smirk appeared on Tali's face. Although she felt some concern over the fact that his attachment to her could potentially cause a problem one day, she couldn't deny that it also made her feel very special. Powerful leaders, politicians, and even a Reaper had failed to influence Shepard in any way; and yet, she could, for no reason other than that he loved her.

The cab suddenly went into a slowing decent, and landed in the docking bay. Tali could see the Normandy a short distance away. She paid the cab fare, got out, and walked toward the ship while carrying her bag, her mind still active over recent events.

. . .

Tali finished hanging the new tapestry on the wall behind their bed. She really liked how it looked, and felt it to be in the perfect spot. It was clearly visible from anywhere in the room, and the empty wall behind their bed really needed some kind of decoration.

Shepard still hadn't returned, but just a short moment ago he had sent her a message, letting her know he would return soon. In his message, he also let her know that things had gone well with both Garrus and Thane. While he didn't specifically state it, his wording made it obvious to Tali that they hadn't killed the person Garrus was after, which was of great relief to Tali. She concluded he must have talked Garrus out of it.

Tali then went down to Engineering to kill some time with some basic maintenance. As the door to her work area opened, she saw something unexpected that, for a split second, gave her a very surreal feeling.

There was another female quarian inside, cleaning an engine.

Confused, Tali approached the quarian, who hadn't noticed her arrival, and curiously asked, "Hello?"

The quarian turned and saw Tali, and immediately dropped what she was doing so as to greet her. "Oh! You must be Tali'Zorah, the Normandy's main engineer?"

"Yes, that's me. But who are you?"

"My name's Lia'Vael nar Ulnay," she answered, "It's an honor to meet you, ma'am—I remember hearing about how you were part of the team that stopped the turian leading the geth, who attacked the Citadel."

"It's good to meet you, too," Tali said, feeling slightly flattered. She then asked, "How did you end up here?"

"Your captain helped me out with some trouble I was having earlier in the day. Afterwards, I mentioned that I had been having a hard time finding work, and he offered me a temp job performing maintenance on your ship while you guys are docked here on the Citadel."

With her curiosity over Lia'Vael presence satisfied, Tali said, "That sounds like Shepard. So you're on your pilgrimage?" She knew she was, since Lia was still using her birth ship's name. Tali also found herself a little eager to indulge the social tendency embedded into her by her culture. It was rare for her to see another of her kind outside the fleet.

"Yeah," Lia answered, "but it hasn't been going well. I came to the Citadel thinking there'd be a lot of work. EVA stuff, salvage, fixing the damaged caused by the geth. But everywhere I went, I was told they weren't hiring quarians."

Tali sighed. It was always sad to hear of racism against her people. Although she spent the majority of her own pilgrimage with Shepard, she knew what it was like to be a victim of racism; she could relate to Lia. "I know what that's like, and I know it's hard, but don't let it get to you. Things will pick up—not everyone you meet will treat you badly."

"Today was especially bad, until your captain showed up," Lia said.

"What happened?"

"I was just minding my own business, when this volus bumped into me. A minute later, he ran up with C-Sec, accusing me of stealing his credit chit!" she answered, partially worked up as she recalled the frustrating experience. "And even though the officer scanned me and found nothing, he wanted to take me to the C-Sec office. Just because I'm a quarian, he assumed I had taken it and stashed it somewhere!"

"_Bosh'tet,"_ Tali said in an angry whisper.

"Then your captain showed up. He was curious about what was going on, and talked to us—I was really surprised when I saw he was familiar with quarian pilgrimages. He then said he'd look into it, and a few minutes later, he came back. It turned out that stupid volus had left his chit at some store."

"So Shepard found it and cleared you of the charges?"

"Yeah, I was so relieved that he found that damn chit," Lia said. "But that wasn't the end of it. Instead of saying he was sorry, that volus just justified himself by saying that I 'could have stolen it,'" Lia quoted the Volus in a mocking voice. "And the C-Sec officer gave me a warning that he'd be keeping an eye on me—even threatened to run me in for vagrancy!"

_Keelah, that's terrible. But, if I know Shepard_… Tali thought, and asked, "Did Shepard say anything to them?"

"He did, and it was great!" Lia answered enthusiastically. "He shoved the volus so hard that he almost fell, and completely called him out on his attitude. Then he grabbed the C-Sec officer—completely manhandled him, I thought he was going to hurt him—and just yelled at him, right in his face."

"Ha! I wish I was there," Tali said, "it's fun to watch Shepard shout."

"At that point I got worried, I thought the officer was going to arrest him. But as soon as your captain mentioned he was a Spectre, the officer had to back off, and then just walked away cursing to himself."

"Good," Tali said, "I'm glad Shepard put those two in their place. Hopefully they'll think twice before mistreating others again."

"I'm just glad that he got me out that trouble, and that he offered me a temp job working on your ship," Lia said, and then added, "By the way, this ship is incredible! I've never seen a ship like this before."

"The Normandy's the most advanced ship I've ever served on. You should hear how quietly it runs, I had trouble sleeping until I… uh, well, it's not a problem anymore," Tali said, ending her comment with a slightly sly tone. _Sleeping with Shepard is a far more comforting than any background noise…_

"So you got use to the quiet?" Lia asked. She was familiar with how a quiet ship would make a fellow quarian uncomfortable.

"Something like that…"

"What Tali means to say is that she sleeps well in Shepard's room," Engineer Kenneth Donnelly commented from the other side of Engineering; he had been eavesdropping on their conversation all this time.

"Kenneth, hush!" Engineer Gabriella Daniels immediately said, "Stay out of their conversation."

"Yes, mum," Kenneth responded, going back to his work.

Lia'Vael said in a surprised, yet quiet voice so as not to be overheard by the others, "Wait… so _you_ and _him_…?"

Tali walked in the direction of the fusion core, and gestured with her hand for Lia to follow, so that they could talk with some privacy. Once in front of it, she said, "Yes, Shepard and I are very close." She would have preferred not to bring up her personal life, but now that it was revealed to Lia'Vael, she confirmed it proudly, without hesitation or concern of what she might think of an interspecies relationship.

"Wow. That explains why he knew so much about our pilgrimages, and why he got so worked up seeing a quarian being mistreated like that."

"Well, Shepard is the type of person who would help an innocent person in trouble, no matter what race they are."

"How did you two meet?" Lia asked.

"We met over two years ago, here on the Citadel. He helped me out during my pilgrimage, too." _Although, I was in a situation a bit more dangerous than being harassed by a volus…_ "I joined his crew afterwards, and we became close during our mission to stop Saren and the geth."

"You're the first person I know to be in a relationship with a human, but I can see the appeal—he's pretty cute," Lia said. She then asked, "How did your parents react to the news? What did they say?"

"They... didn't say anything," Tali answered, the tone of her voice made it clear that she didn't want to discuss the topic. Lia took the hint, and didn't bring it up again.

There was a brief moment of awkward silence. Lia then said, "Well, it's been really nice chatting with you—you're the first quarian I've spoken to since I left the fleet—but I should probably get back to work. I'm afraid your captain might be unhappy if he saw me not working."

"Oh, don't worry about Shepard. He's very laid back as a captain, he's harmless."

"Harmless?" a voice said from behind the two of them, "way to emasculate me in front of our guest, Tali."

They turned around, and saw Shepard behind them.

Tali and him greeted with a quick hug. Tali was glad to see him back safely. "Hey Shepard—when did you get here?" she asked.

"Just now," he responded. He was in a particularly good mood. The two incidents with both Garrus and Thane had gone much better than he would have imagined. He was particularly glad that he managed to talk Garrus out of killing his former teammate, which was something he felt Garrus would come to regret.

Shepard looked at Lia and said, "And don't worry, Kenneth mentioned you've been a big help with the maintenance."

"Thank you. I'm very grateful for the job," Lia said.

"We're actually going to be leaving the Citadel very soon," Shepard said. "So let me pay you, so you can be on your way."

Lia didn't say anything as she watched Shepard reach into his pocket. They hadn't actually discussed payment, so she had no idea what to expect_. I worked for a few hours_, she thought to herself, _that should be worth maybe ninety or a hundred credits. I hope I get that much. I could really use the money._

Shepard pulled out a credit chit from pocket and offered it to her. "Make sure you don't leave it at a store," he joked, alluding to the volus she had the quarrel with earlier.

She took it, and her jaw dropped when she looked at its credit display. "One_ thousand_ credits? This can't be—you meant one hundred, right?"

"No, it's right," Shepard calmly responded. "This is an advanced vessel. Not just anyone can work on it, so the payment should reflect that," he said, hiding that the generous payment was primarily just to help her out.

"I don't know if I can accept this," Lia said.

"Please do," Tali said; Shepard's charity was obvious to her. "If anything, you should ask him to pay you more—you wouldn't believe how much he's spent on toy ships to put over his desk."

"I told you," Shepard said, "those aren't toy ships, they're models."

"Oh really?" Tali said as she folded her arms, and continued her tease, "is that why I found you the other day holding the Normandy 'model' in your hand, pretending it was shooting at the—"

"Anyway!" Shepard immediately interrupted. "We really need to get going. Think you can find the exit alright?" he asked Lia.

"Yes, I can," she answered. "Thank you again. I really appreciate this."

"I'm going to go prepare a few things before we launch," Shepard said, and after a brief goodbye, he departed from the two.

"This is goodbye, then. It was very nice talking to you," Tali said once they were alone again. "Good luck on your pilgrimage, Lia'Vael."

"Thanks," she responded as the two of them shook hands. "I'm glad we met. Maybe we'll see each other again on the flotilla some time, after my pilgrimage is over?"

_I wish that were possible…_ Tali thought to herself. "I hope so..."

. . .

Some time had passed since the Normandy departed from the Citadel. Having made their mass relay jumps, they were now far away, traversing through the empty space between star systems. These were always the longest journeys. While the mass relays allowed instant travel to any other mass relay in the galaxy, most star systems didn't have their own. Traveling to such systems required FTL travel from the nearest relay. These journeys could easily take days at a time to complete, as the ship traversed through the vast emptiness, measurable only in light-years.

Tali actually enjoyed these long trips. Faster than light travel was largely automated, so there wasn't much work that needed to be done around the ship. It was also impossible for the ship to fall under attack during FTL, which greatly added to the comforting feeling of safety and peace, which she had long associated with FTL.

Tali lay lounging on the couch of her cabin, oriented to stare at the back wall. She admired the beautiful new tapestry she had hung on it some hours ago. As her eyes gazed at it, her mind was busy reflecting back on her conversation with Lia'Vael. It had been nice to talk to another quarian, especially one who she could relate to, in the wake of her exile. It felt as if she had made a new friend. It had been a very pleasant reminder of what life was like back on the flotilla, conversing with another fully suited individual, to the sound of ship machinery nearby.

Tali heard the sound of the cabin's door open, which she knew meant Shepard was inside now. She tilted her head to the side and saw him entering the lounging area of their quarters.

"That's a beautiful tapestry you bought, by the way," Shepard commented as he sat down on the perpendicular section of the couch. He had noticed it earlier shortly before they left the Citadel, but this was the first time he commented about it to her.

"I really like it," she said, "It kind of reminds me of an ocean."

It was very bittersweet to hear Tali say that. Shepard's mind instantly flashed back to the other night, to the moment after their intimate experience, where they lay snuggled naked in bed together, and he listened to her speak so fondly of the ocean. He perfectly recalled her quiet, soft voice as she spoke in just above a whisper, about having a house on her homeworld, next to the ocean. It was a beautiful memory, but at the same time, he felt melancholy as he thought back to it. It reminded him of how much she yearned for her homeworld, and how powerless he felt in giving her what she wanted so much. He wished he could find a way to—

"By the way, where are we headed off to?"Tali asked, interrupting Shepard's thoughts, which he had completely slipped into.

He suddenly remembered he never actually told her where they were going. He couldn't believe he forgot to mention it, considering how bizarre their destination was. "Oh, you're going to love this," he said. "Our destination is a derelict Reaper. We're hoping to find an IFF that'll allow us to safely pass through the Omega-4 Relay."

"A derelict _Reaper_?" Tali asked in surprise. "Keelah, there's really never a dull moment with you, is there?"

Shepard smiled in response, amused.

"Hopefully," she continued, "an IFF is _all_ we find inside that thing."


	23. I'm Reactivating the Geth

_**I'm Reactivating the Geth**_

"Leave it there! You know what they are! If it gets into the Normandy's computers…" Tali tried to explain.

"There's no time to debate it, Tali. Come on!" Shepard said as he and Garrus grabbed the deactivated geth lying on the floor before them.

They were inside the corpse of a Reaper. For millions of years, the wreckage of the enormous, once sapient warship had been in orbit around the brown dwarf, Mnemosyne. But now with its mass effect core destroyed, which had sustained its orbit around the failed star for all this time, it would soon plummet into it and be destroyed. They needed to quickly escape, and Shepard decided that they would take the geth they found inside the Reaper with them.

They had come to the derelict Reaper for the purpose of acquiring an Identify Friend/Foe (IFF) device that would permit them to safely travel through the Omega-4 Relay, where the Collector homeworld awaited on the far side. Along with the IFF, they found numerous unusual things within the dark and ominous, almost organic looking interior of the dead Reaper. They stumbled across various vid logs of the previous Cerberus team, which indicated that the remnant of Reaper's indoctrination field had driven them to insanity. 'Dragon's Teeth' devices with impaled bodies, oriented in bizarre patterns as if for the purpose of worship. And many, many husks.

But the geth they now carried was the most bizarre discovery of all. All other encounters were no real surprise; they knew that contact had been lost with the previous Cerberus team, and seeing hordes of twisted abominations was always common when dealing with Reapers and their servants. This lone geth, however, was very unusual. Everything about it was an enigma. Not only was it alone, which is unheard of with the geth, it could speak and knew Shepard by name. It had a piece of N7 armor strapped to its body, and stranger still was the fact that it actually assisted Shepard and his team during a battle.

All of this was enough to pique Shepard's curiosity, and lead him to decide to bring it back to the Normandy, despite Tali's logical objection.

. . .

Hours passed since their mission on the derelict Reaper, and Tali stood at her work console in Engineering, performing routine maintenance on the Normandy's systems. While lost into her easy yet mundane work, she heard the door behind her open. She kept typing into her console, not bothering to turn around and see who it was. Ken and Gabby often came and went through the area, and Shepard liked to visit her often during the day. If it was him, she knew she'd soon feel a pair of hands on her body, caressing her and utterly interrupting her work; which, of course, she wouldn't mind.

Instead, she heard unusual footsteps. A type of clanking noise, as if metal impacting the metal of the floor. She stopped typing. Along with the strange footsteps, she also heard a familiar sound, which had long elicited emotional responses of hatred and abhorrence within her. It was the subtle whirring and humming of the internal mechanisms of a synthetic creature. There was a geth behind her. _The_ geth.

Tali turned around, and as if she were in a bad dream, her eyes instantly met with the emotionless, brightly glowing optic sensor of a geth, staring right at her. Its head flaps spread out ever so slightly, and it made some extra, subtle mechanical noises as it focused on her.

"Creator," it said in its synthesized voice, "Tali'Zorah."

After a short period of no response from Tali, it said, "We wish to study the Normandy's systems. Shepard-Commander authorized us to explore the ship."

Without saying a word, Tali immediately walked away from her console, in a very fast and tense pace, and exited Engineering through the door on the other side; she did not want to walk by that _thing_. She took the elevator, and selected the top deck. She was absolutely furious, and couldn't believe Shepard had actually activated it. Worse still, he had allowed it to wander the ship. Her mind couldn't wrap around that fact.

Stepping into the cabin, she saw Shepard sitting at his desk, working at his private terminal.

"_You activated the geth_?" she asked in disbelief; her voice was livid.

Shepard sighed quietly, and calmly stood up. He had been expecting this. "Yes, a short while ago."

"Why, Shepard?" she asked loudly, but not letting him answer, "You know what those things are like! You know what they're capable of! How many times have you been shot at by geth? You of all people should know better!"

He responded, "You're right, I have been shot at by a lot of geth—I've been shot at by every geth I've ever encountered. Except this one. That's why I activated it; I wanted to learn why it's different."

"So you were curious? That's it? That's why you're endangering all of us?" she angrily asked. "It's a _geth_! It's a servant of the Reapers! How could you possibly bring that unto our ship? Just to satisfy your curiosity?"

"It's not serving the Reapers!" Shepard responded, raising his voice slightly. "I talked with it. It explained that a group of geth splintered from the geth collective—heretics, it calls them—and they're the ones that worship the Reapers; they're the ones we've been fighting all this time." He paused momentarily, and added, "That information alone made its reactivation worthwhile."

"Oh, so it's just one of the friendly geth that drove my people from our homeworld," she responded sarcastically. The news Shepard gave her was major, but she was still too worked up—too frustrated over that thought of a geth walking around the ship she called her home.

"Tali, I know your people's exile is a sensitive topic," he said, his voice calmer now, "but you know that the geth were only acting in self defense. The quarians were the ones who attacked first."

"No, Shepard!" Tali snapped in response, "What they did wasn't just self defense! Maybe at first it was, but it stopped being self defense when our armies were defeated—when our fleets were destroyed! It stopped being self defense when we tried to surrender! They killed _everyone_ they found, they killed children and the elderly! Is killing defenseless noncombatants self defense? No!

"Do you know what our population was before the war? Eighteen billion. Do you know how many of my people got away? Seventeen million! Do the math, Shepard—it's less than point one percent! That's all that got away! We may have made a mistake and _attempted_ genocide, but they're the ones that actually committed it! They were intent on our destruction; the only mercy we were ever shown, was that they didn't follow us outside of the Veil! Don't you dare tell me that what they did was only self defense!"

Shepard waited a moment, making sure her tirade was over. He then said, "I know how you feel about this, Tali, and I can't justify or explain what happened during that war. But you need to put aside your hatred of the geth. Don't you see? They actually _oppose_ the Reapers; they can help us fight them! " He noticed no reaction from Tali, and also added, "Just think how much you can learn about the geth from it. They don't hate organics, Tali. We may be able to forge peace with them. For all we know… we may be able to find a peaceful way to get your people their world back!"

Shepard's words seemed far too optimistic. Far too impossible. Tali said, "I don't believe that. The geth have attacked everyone that has entered the Perseus Veil since our exile. They attacked any diplomats the Council sent to negotiate. In three hundred years, they've _never_ once tried to tell the rest of the galaxy that they're open to peace with organics."

"Until now," Shepard said. "That's why they sent Legion outside of the Veil. To find me, and make contact with me. They wanted to inform organics that they are not our enemies."

_Legion? Is that what he calls that thing?_ she briefly thought, and then said, "How do we know that it isn't some kind of trick? That it isn't working with the Reapers, and trying to deceive and manipulate you?"

"If that were the case, why didn't it just kill us back on the derelict Reaper? What would the point of 'manipulating' me be? It's not like anyone else is trying to stop the Reapers—it might as well have killed me when it had the chance. Hell, it probably saved our lives."

Tali couldn't find a way to property refute Shepard's belief. Growing frustrated, she just stated what she felt, "This—this is too much. I've worked with Cerberus, but this is too much. I do not want that thing on our ship!"

Shepard had been attempting to restrain his frustration with the argument, but he couldn't do it any longer; he had enough of this debate. "Look, _I'm_ the one in charge of this ship, and this is _my_ decision. The geth stays, and that's final."

Tali was taken aback by what he said. "So, that's it, then? You don't care how I feel about this? All that talk after my trial about me having a home here on the Normandy, and you dismiss my concerns, just like that? I'm _vas Normandy_, Shepard! This ship is part of my name! How can you not care how I feel about this?" she exclaimed.

"I do care! Don't say I don't!" Shepard shouted in response. With noticeable frustration he said, "Damn it, Tali, why are you being so stubborn about this? Why can't you just trust me? You're letting your hatred of the geth cloud your judgment! This is exactly why Koris was gunning for you during your trial! This attitude is what got you ex—"Shepard stopped, suddenly realizing the mistake in what he was saying. _Oh shit…_

"What?" Tali asked in disbelief. "How can you... how can you say that! How can you justify what that bastard did to me?" she yelled.

Shepard quickly tried to apologize, "Look, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorr—"

"So you think his motivation was right?" she interrupted. "You think what he did was right? You agree with what he did?"

"No! Of course I don't!"

"That's not what I just heard! How could—" her voice broke, fighting back tears, "how could… just, just don't talk to me!" she shouted, her voice wavering. She stormed out of their cabin.

_Damn it. _Shepard slapped his hand on his desk, and sighed, shaking his head_. What a fucking disaster. _He couldn't believe what he had done; what he had said. He had been frustrated over her refusal in accepting a non-hostile geth, but now he only felt intense regret. Bringing up her trial—her exile—in a way that seemed to justify what had been done to her was a mistake. It was wrong. He shouldn't have let his frustration control his words; he shouldn't have brought up Koris.

After a brief period of standing in his quarters, his mind actively trying to figure out how to solve this problem, he left the room. He decided he was going to go see Legion.

He wanted to talk to it, and he desired nothing more than to find an excuse to throw it out the airlock.

. . .

Over half an hour had passed since their fight, and Tali sat in the starboard observation deck by herself. She sat at the end of the couch in front of the window. Her feet were up on the edge of the seat, with her knees folded up. Her arms rested on her knees, as she gazed blankly at the great, black void of space before her.

Her head hurt, and her eyes stung. The skin of her cheeks felt slightly sticky from now dried tears. She wished she could rub her sore eyes, they really needed to be rubbed, but that was yet another simple act that, as a quarian, she was deprived of.

As she stared out into nothing, her mind lingered on what had happened in the cabin a while ago. In the time that followed her storming out of the room, there had been intense anger and distress at what Shepard said_. If he wants to debate over that geth's usefulness, fine. But how could he act like that? How could he say what he said, and bring up my exile? How could he mention the bastard who exiled me, as if what he did was right?_

However, it didn't take long before her initial feelings of anger over their fight dissipated, and she found herself feeling grief-stricken and depressed, quietly crying to herself in the empty observation room. She hated that she had a fight with Shepard; it was something that had never happened before. They sometimes had the occasional disagreement, but it was never more than a minor argument or debate, which always quickly fixed itself. This relationship with Shepard had been the first one of her life, and thus, this was the first fight she had ever had with a significant other. Just as the first times they cuddled, kiss, and made love had been joyous beyond belief, the pain she now felt was utter torture.

For some time now, she had been feeling emotionally drained and weary; she simply felt exhausted and numb. As she stared out into space, she thought about what Shepard had said, not only in regards to the geth, but about her attitude toward them. She began to wonder if maybe she was the one who was wrong. Shepard seemed so sure that having that geth onboard was the right choice. He seemed positive that it could benefit them. _I've always been able to trust his decisions. They have never let me down before. Maybe this is no exception, _she thought to herself. She didn't know if she truly believed that, or if she just wanted to, just to have an excuse to make up and bring an end to her sadness.

Tali continued to reflect back on recent events, and as she pondered them, she started to wonder where Shepard was. Realizing that some time had passed since their fight, she suddenly felt saddened that he hadn't come find her and talk to her. She preferred to be alone, but the fact that he didn't _attempt_ to talk to her and resolve the situation was very unlike him. When she left their cabin, she expected him to immediately follow her; it was his style to try and fix problems as quickly as possible by talking.

"EDI," she called out, which automatically activated EDI's nearby terminal. She never particularly enjoyed talking to the ship's AI, but she had grown to live with it. It at least spoke like a person, and was shackled and under restraint.

From the terminal, EDI's blue holographic projection emerged and asked, "Yes, Tali'Zorah?"

"Can you tell me where Shepard is?"

"Commander Shepard is currently in the AI core room. He is talking with Legion."

Tali exhaled through her teeth, suddenly feeling very disappointed. She shook her head; she couldn't believe Shepard had been talking with the geth all this time. _That_ was the reason he hadn't come see her, and try and fix their current quarrel.

"Thanks," she said to EDI, so as to dismiss her. EDI's projection disappeared.

Tali returned to her depleted emotional state, now wearier than before, with the knowledge that Shepard was spending time with his new pet while she sat there, feeling miserable. It felt to her that he didn't even care.

A few minutes passed, and then the solemn silence that filled the room where Tali sat, thinking and unmoving, was interrupted by the sound of the door opening behind her. She could see on the reflection of the window in front of her that it was Shepard.

Shepard walked over, and sat down on the couch with Tali, but one seat over. He knew it was best to give her space. He sat leaning forward, supporting his upper body up with his forearms pressed against the top of his thighs.

A short while passed without either saying anything. Finally, Shepard said, "Do you remember after we left the Rayya, when I got so mad that I punched the airlock wall?"

After a brief hesitation, Tali answered in a quiet, somewhat curt voice, "Yeah." She shuffled slightly in her seat, folding her arms.

"I was _this_ close," Shepard held out his hand, and did a pinching motion with his thumb and index finger, "to doing that to Koris. I was so tempted to run up to those admirals, punch Koris right in his face, and watch his mask shatter to pieces."

Tali didn't say anything.

There was silence as Shepard waited for some kind of response, which never came. Finally, he decided to continue talking.

"I mentioned that because… well, I guess I just want you to know how angry I was at him for what he did to you. I still am," he said. "What happened earlier… I was just _so_ excited and optimistic about what I learned from Legion—about what it could all mean—and I got so frustrated that you didn't want to consider any of it.

"But… bringing up that asshole admiral's opinion and his motivation for exiling you was a stupid thing to do. You're the last person who should have gone through what he put you through. You're a hero, Tali. You've been such an important part in our efforts against the Reapers. Hell, the first time I ever even heard their name was from the audio recording _you_ acquired. None of this would have been possible without you. You deserved better—you _deserve_ better, than what I said, and… I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I dismissed your concerns when I said that this was my ship, and I'm sorry that I disrespectfully brought up your exile."

There was a long period of silence after Shepard's words.

Tali then said, in a quiet yet unhappy voice, "EDI told me that you were talking with the geth all this time. I sat here, feeling miserable over what happened, and you were chatting with it, instead."

She felt touched over what Shepard just said, and she really wanted to just hug him and end the bitterness of their argument, but it really bothered her that he chose to spend the time right after their fight, continuing to converse with Legion. He shouldn't have waited all this time to talk to her and say all this to her; he shouldn't have talked to it first, no matter how excited and optimistic he was over what it had told him. While she had been feeling angry, sad, betrayed, and miserable, he had been chatting with the damn thing responsible for all this.

After a brief interval, Shepard responded, "I went to talk to it first, because I was angry with it. I wanted to blame it for our fight. I went to it, hoping I would find a reason to grab it by its synthetic neck, and throw it out the airlock. I wanted an excuse to get it off the ship, and make you happy. I thought it would be the best way to fix what had happened."

Shepard paused a moment and continued. "I was really bothered by what happened in our cabin; by what I said. I regretted it deeply, and I still do. You mean so much to me, Tali. Just looking at you, and hearing your beautiful voice… it's the highlight of every one of my days. You're the best thing in my life. And knowing that one of _my_ decisions caused you so much grief; caused us to argue and yell… I desperately wanted to find a way to undo it."

Some time passed as Shepard sat, looking at her, hoping for a response. Tali continued to stare straight ahead at the window. To Shepard, the wait for a response felt like an eternity. But, finally, she said in a very soft voice, "You should sit closer."

Shepard instantly felt intense relief, and a small smile appeared on his face. He got up, and took the seat that was between them; he was now right next to her. After a short wait, Tali tilted her head to the side, and rested it on his shoulder.

"Since it's still on the ship," she said, "I take it you didn't find a reason to get rid of it."

"No, Tali, I didn't," he responded, almost sounding disappointed, even though he knew it was a good thing. "But I found a lot of reasons to keep it. I learned more about the geth, stuff I never imagined. I know how you feel about them, but please, give Legion a chance. After talking with it, I genuinely believe diplomacy is possible with them… that they may actually be willing to return Rannoch to your people."

Tali's eyes widened; she felt very surprised—almost shocked—to hear that name: Rannoch. She knew Shepard didn't know the true name of her homeworld; the majority of quarians didn't even know it. It was a forgotten name. Shepard could only have learned it from Legion.

"Why would the geth give up their world?" she asked. "They took it over. They've had three hundred years to settle it. It would be like asking humans to give up Earth." She wanted to remain skeptical; the thought of the geth simply _giving_ the planet back sounded too good to be true.

"That's just the thing," Shepard said, eager to explain what he had learned, "they don't use your world, _at all_. They don't live on it, they live on space stations. They don't even gather resources from it; they find it more efficient to mine asteroids. And get this, they've actually cleaned it—they've cleared the damage left behind by the war. They've acted as the world's caretakers. Tali, I know I don't need to tell you how significant this information is. No one in the Migrant Fleet—hell, no one in the galaxy—knows any of this, except _us_."

A period of time passed in silence after Shepard's words. Tali was in thought over what he said, and as she considered not only his words, but everything that had transpired earlier, she suddenly realized something important. Something she already knew, but never really considered during their past argument.

She lifted her head off his shoulder, and looked right at his eyes. "When I first joined this ship, I was really nervous. I remember when I first walked inside it, and saw the Cerberus insignias on the walls… it made me feel sick."

She continued, "In the past, the Migrant Fleet has been attacked many times by pirates and mercenaries. But no one had ever actually infiltrated it; actually gone into one of our ships and killed people. Until Cerberus. With what they did on the Idenna, they quickly became one of my people's most hated enemies. And that's where I found myself when I joined you after Haestrom: with Cerberus. I was in a Cerberus vessel, surrounded by Cerberus crewmembers. And it was purely because of you, Shepard. I joined this ship because of you.

"It was like… you were standing in hell, and you asked me to jump in with you. And I did. I listened to you, over everything my gut was telling me. I jumped into hell because I trusted and loved you… and it turned out to be one of the best decisions in my life. My trust in you was well placed, as it always had been before.

"And just now, I realized, that this is the exact same situation. I see you again, standing in hell—in a place worse than hell—and you're asking me to jump into it with you again.

"I grew up hating the geth; I was taught to hate them, especially by father, and I've always blamed them for the hardships my people suffer. I can't imagine my animosity toward them ever going away completely, even if everything that geth told you, turns out to be true."

Tali paused for a moment, and said, "So, my choice is… do I love you more than I hate the geth? Do I trust you enough to jump into hell with you, again?" She took his hand and held it with both of hers, as she stared directly at his eyes. "I do, Shepard… I trust you. I trust your judgment. I'll cooperate with Legion."

All Shepard could do was smile at her response, as he looked at her, feeling her hands squeezing his own. After a short interval, he said in low, soft voice, "I wish we were in our room, so I could take your mask off and kiss you."

With everything that had happened, and the sad, weary emotional state that only now had ended, absolutely nothing sounded better to Tali than for the two to reaffirm their love of each other with intimacy, such as kissing. She leaned in and quietly said, "Maybe we should go to our room, then..."

They went back to their quarters, sat on their couch together, and briefly continued talking. However, few words and little time passed before Tali's mask ended up coming off. Her exposed face quickly lead to their lips coming together, and it wasn't long before Tali found herself straddled on top of Shepard as he sat on the couch; the two of them eagerly embracing and kissing.

And even less time passed, before they ended up migrating toward their bed, desperately pulling off each other's apparel in the process.

. . .

It was the next day, and Tali stepped out of the elevator on the Normandy's crew deck, where she proceeded to walk toward the med-bay. She was sick and had a fever from the hours she ended up spending making up with Shepard the previous night, but that was not the reason she was approaching the med-bay. Her destination was the server room behind it.

She briefly greeted Chakwas as she walked by, and continued forward. As soon as she entered, Legion moved slightly, and focused its stare at her. She approached, but kept a significant distance.

"Creator-Tali'Zorah," Legion stated. Its acknowledgement of her presence was its way of greeting.

Tali hesitated before speaking. "You spoke with Shepard yesterday."

"Yes," it responded. An efficient, accurate response.

"You told him that the geth are divided. Some of you worship the Reapers, but most of you oppose them."

"Yes."

"And the geth who oppose the reapers—the ones you belong to—are the ones who have control of the Perseus Veil."

"Yes."

Tali found herself somewhat annoyed by its repeated use of the same word for its responses. It almost felt like speaking to a child who wasn't paying attention. "Is that word all you can say?"

"No. We judged it sufficient to accurately answer your questions."

_Be patient with it. You told Shepard you would at least give it a chance. _"Shepard also told me, that you said that the geth don't hate organic life. That you don't hold a grudge against my people for the war."

"Organic life act on emotions. We understand why the creators attempted to destroy us. We do not judge them. We have no animosity toward the creators. Our concern is that our existence is not threatened."

"So, you're saying that there _can_ be peace between my people and the geth?"

"Yes. But both creators and created must complete their halves of the equation. The geth cannot solve for peace alone. Organics fear that which is different. This limits peace. It is a hardware error. A reflex of your flesh."

"That's not always true," Tali refuted. "Shepard and I are a different species, yet we don't fear each other, we—" _Should I even tell it this? _"…we love each other. What organics fear is what we don't understand, because what we don't understand is a potential risk. That is why my people attacked the geth. We believed them to be a risk. We thought an uprising was inevitable, and we wanted to stop it from happening."

As she talked, Legion's head flaps adjusted slightly, and it made some extra mechanical noises and clicks. It waited a period of time before responding.

"Clarification request," Legion said. "Creator-Tali'Zorah and Shepard-Commander are mated?"

Tali found its question odd. Not only did it seem like it missed the point of her whole statement, she wasn't even sure how to answer it. "Well, I… I guess you could put it like that." _Not officially, but that's going to change one day… _

"We do not understand," Legion said. "Organics form mated bonds for the purpose of ensuring offspring safety and survival. Yet your hardware is not compatible with Shepard-Commander's. Creating offspring is not possible. A mated bond serves no purpose."

This was the first time Tali had ever been told that she could never have children with Shepard. She knew it already, of course, as it was biologically impossible. But she had never really thought about it; whenever the thought entered her mind, she always chose not to dwell on it. Hearing it from someone—even if it was a geth—suddenly made her feel somewhat pensive, and sad.

"There are many reasons for two people to be together and love each other. We are not bound by our 'hardware' like you are," she responded. "But I don't want to discuss this."

"What do you wish to discuss?"

"I'll get straight to the point," Tali said. "My people need a world. The Migrant Fleet can't sustain us forever. We want—we _need_—our home back."

"'Home' is recognized patterns. Known spaces. Familiar thought processes of fellow sapients. It is belonging. A planet is an amount of material massive enough to collapse into a spherical volume. Rocks, ice, and gasses are not 'home.' Place of origin is irrelevant. Example: your origin is the creator fleet, yet you call the Normandy home."

"You don't understand," Tali said. "Our race can't continue existing in a fleet of ships. We need a world, but our immune system makes colonizing a new world almost impossible. We need our native environment back. Settling a new world is just too difficult. It would take hundreds of years for us to adapt."

Legion made a few mechanical noises as it processed Tali's words, but didn't respond. Tali then continued, "Shepard said you told him that the geth don't even inhabit our homeworld. That you don't use it at all."

"Correct. We are only caretakers. We live within space stations. Draw resources from asteroids. It is efficient. We maintain mobile platforms on your worlds to clean rubble and toxics left by the Morning War."

"That doesn't make sense. Why care for words you don't even use?"

"Organic races perform similar actions. You preserve land where your dead are buried. You do not use the land. Shepard-Commander explained that organics do this in remembrance of their dead."

"Yes, but geth don't die. Your memories are transmitted to server nodes and backed up."

"The creators died. Perhaps we do it for you."

There was a period of silence after Legion's words ended, and Tali thought about what it said. Cleaning worlds they didn't use had no logic to it. She had expected the geth to follow cold, machine-like reasoning. The fact that it said '_Perhaps_ we do it for you,' implied that the geth don't even fully understand their actions, themselves; as if they weren't bound to machine-like logic. For the first time in her life, the geth seemed more than just cold, emotionless, lifeless machines.

Putting her thoughts aside, she finally asked what was most important to know. "If you have no use for the homeworld… then what would my people need to do, for us to be allowed back?"

"We cannot answer that," Legion replied. "Consensus would have to be built by the entire geth collective. All perspectives must be considered."

"Can't you communicate with them?"

"Yes. However a single mobile platform cannot be used to negotiate entry into our space. It is a security risk. Our interaction with the Old Machines have made us aware that we are not immune to hacking and reprogram attempts. The Normandy would need to communicate directly with the geth collective."

"So we would need to go into geth space?"

"Yes."

Tali said, "But the geth are extremely territorial. They attack without attempting negotiation or offering the chance to leave. How will we know that the rest of your kind won't attack us?"

"This mobile platform can broadcast an Identify Friend/Foe signal that will allow the Normandy safe entry into geth space. However we cannot return until our tasks are complete."

"What tasks?" Tali asked.

"Collectors are servants of the Old Machines. Since making contact with Shepard-Commander we have built consensus that the Collector threat must be neutralized. But there is a more immediate task we must first complete. The heretics have developed a weapon to use against the geth. You would call it a virus. It is stored on a data core provided by Sovereign. Over time it will change us by introducing a subtle programming error into our most basic runtimes. It would make us conclude that worshipping the Old Machines is correct."

"So it would turn all geth into 'heretics'? How can we stop that?"

"The Old Machine datacore that contains the virus is physically isolated from the network. We would need to be escorted to it to access and destroy the data. It is located in the heretic space station headquarters."

"Have you told Shepard any of this?"

"No. We have only recently completed our analysis."

"I'm going to go inform him, then."


	24. Virus Effects

_**Virus Effects**_

"I didn't know geth built stations this large," Tali said in quiet awe, as she looked down a vast room through a window, within the twenty kilometer long Heretic Station. It went on as far as her eyes could see.

"That room likely spans the entire length of this station." Legion commented.

Shepard recalled what he had read about this place before their mission began, and said, "According to Cerberus' intel on this station, this was originally a quarian creation. Is that right?"

"Yes. This station is of Creator origin. They called it Haratar," Legion answered.

_This station was created by my people? We built things __like this? Keelah, I never knew…_ Tali thought to herself.

"After the Morning War, creators stripped this station of any useful technology and resources. They abandoned it. Heretics later claimed it and restructured it. Organics use space inefficiently. The interior was reconstructed and upgraded. The exterior hull is all that remains of the original station."

Shepard took a moment to look down the room Tali had been staring, which looked like an unending tunnel. He then said "Let's keep moving," and the three continued on their mission.

They progressed through the large space station, moving toward the Reaper datacore that contained the virus they had come to eliminate. They frequently encountered isolated sever nodes, as well as mobile geth platforms, which proved to be of little challenge to them. The technical expertise of both Tali and Legion gave them a significant advantage over their synthetic foes.

When they had first arrived, their intent was to simply destroy the station, both eliminating the Reaper virus and severely weakening the heretics' numbers. But shortly after their arrival, Legion's analysis of the Reaper datacore became complete, and a second option presented itself. Legion informed Shepard that he would be able to use the heretics' own weapon against them, causing them to be reprogrammed to reject their machine gods, and rejoin the geth collective in opposing the Reapers.

As they traversed and battled their way through the station, Legion had been attempting to build consensus on whether to destroy the heretics, or rewrite them. Eventually, they reached their destination: the Reaper datacore, and it was time to make a decision. However, Legion had still not been able to reach consensus. Five hundred and seventy-three of its processes favored rewrite, and five hundred and seventy-one favored destruction. Legion left the decision up to Shepard.

Shepard considered it for a while, and ultimately decided to rewrite the heretics. In his eyes, it meant more allies would be available to help against what he felt was an inevitable battle with the Reapers. He noticed Tali gave no real opinion on the decision; she simply stated that either way, these geth wouldn't be a problem. He was glad to see that she didn't object to making the geth collective stronger, but deep down inside, he wondered if she probably would have considered it safer to destroy the heretics. The fact that she didn't openly object, however, was a big indicator of her possible growing acceptance of the geth.

After a heated battle to defend the datacore while the virus was modified, and a narrowing escape from the station, they returned to the Normandy. As it flew away from Heretic Station, the superstructure let out a massive electromagnetic pulse, broadcasting the altered virus to all other heretic stations within proximity. The same weapon that the heretics sought to use against the geth had been turned around on them. The Reapers lost a large number of their servants.

Back aboard the Normandy, after only a short period of time after the completion of the mission aboard Heretic Station, Legion learned that the quarians had performed various weapons tests and were discussing potentially attacking the geth. Aware of this, Legion began the process of building consensus on whether or not to attempt to scan Tali's omni-tool and acquire relevant data on the flotilla, so as to warn the rest of its kind.

As it built consensus, its memories of the discussion it had with Tali'Zorah shortly after its arrival on the Normandy were accessed by every one of its processes. They took into consideration her willingness to attempt to contact the geth, so as to negotiate how the quarians could be allowed back unto their homeworld, peacefully.

Legion finished building consensus and the majority of its processes judged that, since both Creator-Tali'Zorah and Shepard-Commander were interested in contacting the geth collective for peaceful purposes, relaying the information at this point was not necessary. It would not attempt to scan her omni-tool and transmit the data.

. . .

Some days passed since the rewriting of the heretic geth, and Shepard currently stood at his private terminal in the Normandy's CIC. There was little left to do now. The ship had been upgraded with all the tech they could access, and all of the team's personal matters had been taken care of; everyone was committed and focused on the mission. It was only a matter of waiting for the Reaper IFF installation to be completed.

Shepard had decided that they would go on one last mission, in order to make better use their time as they waited. It wasn't a particularly important assignment, but it would be their last chance to acquire potentially useful resources, weapons, or technology before attacking the Collectors directly.

While Shepard read through some information on the upcoming mission, he received a message from Joker.

"Hey Commander, Good news. Looks like the reaper IFF is finally hooked up and ready to go."

"That is not entirely accurate, Mr. Moreau," EDI said. "The device is powered, but it is causing some unusual instability in other systems. I recommend a more thorough analysis before we attempt to use it."

"We can't put our mission on hold forever. How long will this take?" Shepard asked.

"A full scan? Who knows with this thing," Joker answered. "Maybe you better take the shuttle for your next mission. I'll make sure we're up and running when you get back."

"Alright, I'll give the order for the team to assemble at the shuttle, shortly," Shepard said, and went back to looking over the information he had been reading. A brief period of time passed, when he heard the elevator door behind him open.

"Shepard!" a voice yelled. It was Zaeed Massani. "Jessie is missing! My goddamn rifle is MISSING!" The infuriated, veteran mercenary shouted as he approached Shepard, standing right in front of him.

Shepard was well aware how much that old rifle meant to Zaeed. Shepard had spent time with Zaeed in the starboard cargo area, and listened to many of his stories of the missions he had been on during his long career as a mercenary and bounty hunter. Jessie was a constant in nearly every one of his tales. Although it had stopped functioning years ago, and was little more than a mere lucky charm now, Zaeed perpetually spoke fondly of Jessie, as if it were a deceased loved one, who had shared in all the danger of his life.

When Zaeed had told him of how Jessie suddenly stopped working on one particular mission, and no one he took it to afterwards was able to fix it, Shepard actually found himself genuinely feeling sorry for him. Zaeed had described Jessie's retiring as the saddest day of his life.

"What happened?" Shepard asked with sincere confusion over its absence. "It's not in the starboard cargo area?"

"Don't you think I looked there already?" Zaeed irritably answered. "I looked all over the damned place! It isn't there!"

"Zaeed, try and calm down," Shepard said, holding up his hands slightly. "Have you checked the armory? Maybe somebody took it there. It is a weapon, after all."

"It damn well better be there," Zaeed growled, and the two proceeded to walk to the armory. They searched the room, but it was quickly obvious it wasn't there. The old, rust-crusted rifled covered in dents and scratches would have instantly been noticeable among the new, modern weapons throughout the armory.

"She isn't here!" Zaeed angrily shouted, as he slammed the door of the weapons locker he had been searching.

"Zaeed, I know how much your rifle means to you, but you _need_ to relax," Shepard said, once again trying to calm him down, as they proceeded to exit the armory and walk back into the CIC. "It has to be somewhere on the ship. We'll ask the rest of the team if anyone has seen it."

"I'm telling you right now," Zaeed said, stopping near the galaxy map with Shepard, and pointing at him in sync with his words. "When I find out who took Jessie, I'm going to rip their goddamn arms out of their—"

Zaeed was interrupted as the nearby elevator door open. Tali stepped forth out of the elevator. She carried a very familiar, old rifle in her hands. She had Jessie.

"Zaeed, there you are," she said in a friendly tone, which was in stark contrast to Zaeed's previous, harsh growling. She approached him and Shepard. "I've been looking for you."

Once in front of them, she held up Zaeed's beloved rifle, and said, "I noticed your old weapon earlier, while I was throwing some trash out. I fixed it up for you. Here you go."

Zaeed stared down in disbelief at what she held in her hands. It was Jessie, as beautiful as the day he first found it. All the dirt and rust had even been meticulously scraped off. It shined with a subtle luster he hadn't seen in years. He gently took it from Tali's hands.

"You… fixed Jessie? She actually works?" He asked in shock as he gazed at his treasured weapon; it looked exactly as it did the day he first found it. He then looked up, directly at Tali, and said, "But, how? I've had dozens of techs look at her. They all told me there was nothing that could be done."

"Zaeed, I'm a _quarian_," she proudly answered, almost sounding amused.

Shepard looked at Tali with a pleased grin, feeling very proud of his genius girlfriend. He walked over to her and put his arm around her waist, holding her closely. She returned the gesture. Shepard then said to Zaeed, "She's just being modest. Even among her people, she's an absolute tech genius. You'll never meet a better engineer. You should have had her look at Jessie sooner, Zaeed." He ended his statement by giving Tali a light squeeze with his arm.

Zaeed looked back down at his rifle briefly, and in a quiet voice, which was somewhat unusual to be heard from him, he said, "Thank you… Tali. I won't forget this." It took some difficulty for him speak those words; he was someone who was not accustomed to sincerely thanking another person, or feeling as deeply grateful as he did now. Fixing Jessie was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for him.

He then abruptly brought his hand up to his left eye—his real eye—and gave it a quick, outward stroke. "Something in my eye," he mumbled, "excuse me." He then quickly walked passed them and entered the elevator. He departed.

Once Zaeed was gone, Shepard looked right at Tali, still smiling, and said, "Do you realize what you've done?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm _never_ going to be able to get him to use another weapon again. He's going to ignore every swap weapon order I give him from this point on," Shepard lightheartedly said.

Amused, Tali said, "I had no idea that old weapon meant so much to him. I just saw a broken piece of tech, and figured I'd fix it."

"Are you kidding? You should listen to his stories about it," Shepard said, then quickly added, "on second thought, don't. You'll be stuck listening to him for hours."

After a quick laugh, Tali said, "I'm going to head down to Engineering for a bit. But I'll make sure to steer clear of the starboard cargo area, just in case he starts shooting that thing."

"Actually, babe, head over to the shuttle. We're going to go on a mission soon, and we're all going to take the shuttle. I was just about to give the order, when Zaeed came in yelling about Jessie."

"Alright, Shepard," Tali responded. "I'll get my things and head down there. How come we're taking the shuttle, though?"

"Something about the IFF causing unusual interference. Joker recommended we take the shuttle, so a thorough scan can be performed on the Normandy."

Tali then went to the armory to pick up her weapons, and Shepard told EDI to inform the team. He then went up to his quarters to put on his combat gear.

. . .

A short time after the team had been instructed to meet by the shuttle, Shepard walked through the cargo area, equipped with his armor and weapons. As he approached the shuttle, he noticed that thus far only two members of the team had arrived: Tali and Legion. It was no surprise to him that they were the first to arrive. Tali had been informed of their mission first, earlier in the CIC, and Legion no doubt responded to the command to meet by the shuttle with machine-like efficiency.

"It'll just be a moment before the others get here," Shepard commented as he reached them.

A minute passed with the three waiting by the shuttle, and Garrus showed up. He approached, and greeted them. Shortly after his arrival, Garrus said, "Hey Commander, I think we may have a small problem."

"What is it, Garrus?" Shepard inquired.

"The entire team is coming along, right?" Garrus asked.

"That's right."

"Well, the shuttle can only seat twelve people. There are thirteen of us."

Shepard thought for a moment. Then, with a smirk, he said, "That won't be a problem. Tali can just sit on my lap during the ride." He glanced at her right after his comment, continuing his smirk.

"As nice as that may sound to _you_," Tali responded, in a playful, snarky way, "I don't think I'd be very comfortable sitting like that for the entire trip."

"Well, I'm sorry, Tali," Shepard said, making no effort to sound sincere, "but you heard the math. There aren't enough seats to go around. You're just going to have to sit with me."

"Shepard-Commander," Legion chimed in, "We do not experience discomfort. No seat is required. We can remain standing during shuttle transport."

"Thanks, Legion," Tali said.

"Yeah. Thanks…" Shepard grumbled.

Garrus just laughed quietly.

Over the next few minutes, the rest of the team trickled into the cargo area, and gathered around the shuttle. It wasn't long before all of them were inside, and the shuttle prepared to take off.

"We're heading out," Shepard said to Joker over the communicator. "The ship's all yours. Take care of her."

. . .

Some hours had passed, and the crowded shuttle was travelling through the vast emptiness of space. Tali sat at the end of one of the rows of seats, right next to the window, with Shepard sitting next to her. She was leaned against him slightly, as she looked out at the stars.

Shepard and Tali were mostly quiet, as they sat together, enjoying the relaxing ride within the shuttle. Most of the team members were passing the time by engaging in conversation with one another. The various discussions going on filled the shuttle with the low, perpetual murmur of chatting. Thane and Garrus were discussing preferred sniper rifles, and comparing past sniping accomplishments. Kasumi attempted small talk with a somewhat disinterested Jacob. Grunt enthusiastically listened to Zaeed's various tales of past, violent battles. And various other topics were discussed among the others.

Shepard was content simply sitting next to Tali, feeling her body slightly leaning against his, as he listened in on the others' conversations. At one point, Tali rested her head against his shoulder, but kept herself oriented to be able to stare out the cosmos beyond the window.

Suddenly, the ongoing conversations within the shuttle were interrupted by the shuttle's VI. "Incoming message from the Normandy."

"Shepard, the Normandy has been attacked," the message said. It was EDI.

All talk came to a complete halt, and looks of confusion were now on the faces of everyone, as they attentively listened.

The message continued, "The Reaper IFF broadcasted the Normandy's location to the Collectors, and also implanted a virus into the ship's computers, which disabled propulsion and prevented escape. The Collectors boarded the ship and abducted the crew. Mr. Moreau and I were successful in retaking control and purging the ship of hostiles, however everyone else is gone. The entire crew has been abducted. Please return quickly, Shepard."

After the message ended, complete silence filled the shuttle, and all the looks of confusion that had initially been on the faces of the team, were completely gone.

Now, only looks of anger, abhorrence, and loathing, could be seen.


	25. It's Been a Long Journey

_**It's Been a Long Journey**_

_To: Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay_

_From: Tali'Zorah vas Normandy_

_I hope this message finds you well, Shala'Raan._

_I'm here on the Normandy, and I wanted to let you know that we are near the end of our mission. We've just plotted a course for the Omega-4 Relay, and we will be passing through it in about two hours. There is no guarantee that we'll make it back. No ship has ever done so. I know this may worry you, and it isn't my intention to cause you grief, but there's something important I need to tell you, in case I don't make it back. _

_I know that the other admirals have been in discussion on whether our people should attempt to retake the homeworld, or focus on colonizing a new world. Han'Gerrel wants the homeworld, but he believes war is the only way to get it back. Zaal'Koris wants peace with the geth, but he believes that can only be achieved by abandoning our world. And Daro'Xen… I don't know what she wants. _

_None of these views are correct. We don't have to choose between the homeworld and peace. We can have both. I know this, because I have communicated with a geth. It currently resides within the same ship I call home._

_While speaking to it, I've learned a great deal about them. I learned that they don't hate organics, or even hold a grudge against us. The geth that attacked the Citadel were of a different faction that had broken off from the geth behind the Veil, where our world is._

_I've also learned that they do not inhabit our world, or even use it for resources. They only act as its caretakers. I intended to communicate with the rest of its kind after this mission, and learn how we could be allowed back to our homeworld. But like I said, it's possible I may not make it back. That is why I'm telling you all this. This information is too important to be lost with me. The Admiralty and the Conclave need to know this before they make any decisions. _

_I suspect that the other admirals will dismiss this message and ignore me. I understand how absurd my words must seem. However, I couldn't go into this mission without sharing what I learned. This mission has been referred to as a suicide mission by much of the crew, and it probably will be. It's likely we won't survive._

_I hope it doesn't come to that. I hope we return, victorious and safe. I hope that I get to see you again, one day. And I hope most of all, that our people can return to our homeworld, Rannoch, without war._

_It feels like there's more I should say, but I don't know what else I can say, and I want to make the most of the time I have left. These two hours may be my final, and I wish to spend them with Shepard vas Normandy—my captain, my love. _

_Keelah'selai. _

. . .

"We'll be there in about thirty minutes," Shepard said, after glancing at the holographic clock next to the bed. "I suppose we should start getting ready."

Tali sighed quietly from Shepard's words. She had been anticipating them—dreading them—for some time now. She didn't want to be reminded that this moment was fleeting. She wished it could go on forever. She was afraid for it to end.

The two of them were in their quarters, lying together in bed, tightly embraced in one another's arms. Neither felt anything against their skin except the sheets of the bed, and the warm skin of the other. They had recently made love together. Potentially, for the last time. And they both knew it.

A full minute passed before Tali responded to Shepard's words.

"I'm afraid of the mission," she said, quietly and with some hesitation. She sounded distant and pensive. Shepard turned his head to look at her directly, and anticipated for her to elaborate. She added, "This is the first time that I've ever been afraid to die."

She quickly licked her dry lips, and thought momentarily on how to continue explaining what she now felt. "I've never been afraid to die before. I know people often like to say things like that, however… do you remember on Freedom's Progress, when you saved me from that heavy mech?"

"Of course," Shepard answered, attentively looking at her.

"At the time, I believed—I knew—it was going to kill me… there was no way I was going to survive. But as I looked on at it, knowing that was my final moment of life, I realized I wasn't afraid. I didn't care."

She paused briefly, and continued, "I had no reason to care. I knew that you would always be gone, my people would never have a home, and the Reapers would one day return and kill me, anyway, along with everybody else. Ever since my pilgrimage ended, that is how I had felt every day. I had no reason to live… I had nothing to live for."

She nestled in closer against Shepard, wanting to feel as much his body's warmth as possible. Shepard instinctively tightened his arms around her, holding her firmly. She continued, "But it's not like that at all now. I have so much to live for… so much I want to live to see. So much…

"I want to see the Reapers defeated. I want to see us continue to share our lives together. I want to see my people return home. I want…," she paused, her voice now very poignant, "I want us to live on that house by the ocean, where we can listen to that beautiful noise it makes, as we fall asleep in each other's arms, every night."

Shepard's heart ached as he listened to her. He wanted so much to comfort her, and alleviate her concern, but he didn't even know how. Hearing her, he realized that he felt the same way she did. He wanted everything she wanted, and was also concerned about the low survival odds of the upcoming mission.

_Should I try and tell her that? Should I tell her I feel the same way she does, and let her know she's not alone?_

But Shepard also knew the importance of keeping morale up. It was critical for a commanding officer to inspire confidence in everyone under his command. Showing any fear could so easily shatter morale. Telling her he shared her concern could potentially make things worse.

_Should I tell her that we will be triumphant? Tell her that we'll all be alright, and give her hope? False hope is better than no hope at all. But she's smart—would she even believe me?_

Ultimately, Shepard decided to just open his mouth, and speak, with no plan for his words. He didn't know what he would say, but he hoped the right words would simply flow out of him, as they had done so many times before.

"I understand how you feel, Tali," he said. "I know what it's like to not fear death, because you feel you have nothing to live for. That's how I spent most of my life.

"I had been in the Alliance for eleven years before I met you, and during that time, I fought in many battles and been close to death more times than I want to remember. And in all that time, I was always fighting for somebody else—I fought because I was told to do so. If I survived, my reward would be a pat on the head and the promise of another battle at some future time.

"All those years… I had never truly lived. I merely survived. That was my entire existence. I thought it was fine; that it was as good as life could be. But it all changed when I found you, and I learned how beautiful life can truly be.

"The most important part of our work to stop the Reapers will always be to ensure life throughout the galaxy, and we can't ever forget what's at stake. But ultimately, what makes this fight personal for me—what always reminds me that I can't give up—is knowing that it's the only way I'll earn the right to continue living with you, and sharing my life with you."

He hesitated briefly. "I'm afraid, too, Tali," he finally admitted. "Just like you, I have so much I want to live for, now. But when we're battling the Collectors, I intend to harness these same feelings that give me fear. I won't fight the Collectors, fearing death. I will fight them, wanting life."

Shepard looked right into Tali's deep, gazing eyes. His own eyes were gentle, yet as sincere as she had ever seen. He smiled warmly at her, and said, "We're going to win, Tali. We're going in with the most advanced ship in the galaxy; with the best team that could possibly be assembled."

Tali placed her hand on Shepard's cheek, and whispered, "And we have the best leader we could ever ask for..." She leaned in, and pressed her lips with his.

. . .

With a loud, explosive thud, Shepard's Widow anti-material rifle shot at the Harbinger-controlled Collector, who stood mere feet in front of Shepard's cover. Between its biotic barrier and armor, the shot proved to be non-lethal, and Harbinger still stood, though momentarily stunned.

Shepard leaped over his cover, holding the 86lbs weapon high over his right shoulder, and with a loud grunt he swung it fiercely against the side of the possessed Collector's head. The mighty impact dropped it to the ground, and before it could even attempt to stand, Shepard stood before it. He bashed down upon its head with the butt of his weapon; once, twice, three times. The chitin of the its head crunched and snapped from the fierce blows, utterly concaving from the third and final attack. It lay motionless on the floor, and the bright, yellow light emanating from the fissures throughout its body faded.

"Assume control of that, you piece of shit," Shepard said in a low growl.

Shepard yanked the weapon out of the Collector's head, and secured it to his back. Shepard had a small, satisfied smirk as he wiped off the droplets of pale-green blood that had sprinkled onto his face.

"Looks like that's all of them," Shepard said as he turned to the rest of his team, noticing that no more hovering platforms were en route to their location. The others approached him, as they also secured their weapons.

"As long as the others can keep the bastards of our backs," Zaeed commented.

"We'll be fine," Shepard said. "The team can hold that position all day if they have to."

"As confident as I am in their ability," Tali said, "I'd rather not put them to the test for too long. We should keep moving and see where those tubes lead."

"Agreed. Let's keep pushing," Shepard said, and the three walked to the final hover-platform, at the end of the cluster of platforms.

They were in a large area, deep within the massive Collector Base. All throughout the cavern around them were numerous tubes of varying sizes, all leading through an opening into an even larger chamber. Off to their left was another opening, a type of window, that allowed for a view of the space beyond. In the distance beyond it could be seen the intensely bright, pale yellow accretion disc of a great black hole; an infinitely black marble, surrounded by the brightly glowing gas and dust that spiraled it.

Once on the platform, Shepard stood before its control panel and entered the commands for it to take them to the awaiting chamber, where all the pipes lead; the same pipes that transported the liquefied organic material of the Horizon colonists, and countless others before them. Fortunately, at least, the captured crew of the Normandy had been spared of that fate, when they were rescued some time ago.

Shepard and his team had arrived at the Collector Base only a couple hours ago. From the moment they passed through the Omega-4 Relay, they nearly faced destruction. They narrowly avoided catastrophic impacts from Tartarus Debris Field, which contained wreckage of the countless ships that had come before them. They managed to evade and destroy the fast, precise Oculus drones that had stood guard for millennia. And finally, they had battled the Collector Ship itself; the same one that had wreaked so much havoc upon them in the past. With its destruction, the Normandy had vindicated its predecessor.

The aftermath of the battle with the Collector Ship left them crash-landed upon the exterior of the massive Collector Base. After discussing their plan of attack within the damaged confines of their ship, specialists were assigned and the group broke off into two separate teams.

The moment that it was decided that they would need to form two teams, Shepard instantly knew who he wanted to lead the other: Garrus. His long time turian friend and companion, Shepard had long respected both Garrus' combat skill and ability to lead. Silently, Shepard had had always thought to himself that if anything ever happened to him, he'd want Garrus to be the one to continue leading the team in their fight against the Reapers.

Shepard's confidence in Garrus' ability was not misplaced. During their entire fight progressing through the base, Garrus was repeatedly able to keep everyone under his command alive and well. And only moments ago, when Shepard needed to decide who to take with him deeper into the base, and by extension who to leave behind to defend their rear, Shepard knew that as much as he would have liked Garrus at his side for whatever waited ahead, his ability and skill would be put to better use leading the defending team.

For his own team, Shepard once again chose Tali to come along with him. Logically, he told himself a tech expert could prove invaluable within the heart of the Collector Base. There could be locked doors beyond, or maybe machinery that needed to be disabled. But deep down, Shepard knew that the real reason he chose her was out of concern for her safety. He felt that if she were nearby, where he had control of the situation, he could keep her safe.

He had also chosen to bring Zaeed. Throughout their mission, he had noticed that Zaeed had perhaps the highest morale of all. Shepard didn't know if it was because his decades of violent battles had left him desensitized to the point where the near palpable evil present within the station barely made him flinch, or if it was the simple fact that he was once again battling with his beloved Jessie. Or maybe, he was just a man with no fear of dying; no attachments or loved ones for him to worry about losing. Shepard didn't know the exact reason for Zaeed's particularly stellar performance on this mission, maybe it was a culmination of everything, but it ultimately didn't matter.

The hover-platform shook lightly as it initiated, and with a familiar high-pitched, winding sound, it ascended from the cluster of platforms and flew forward, toward the opening that lead to the awaiting chamber, where all the pipes went.

They passed the threshold, and into view came something unlike anything and of them had ever seen before; their eyes fixed on it, as they stared with shock, horror, and even awe. Suspended in the air by a network of tubes and wires, was a monstrosity; a human Reaper, in the process of being created. Far from completion, it resembled the skeleton of a human that had been severed below the waist. It was made from a dark grey, yet highly lustrous, metallic appearing material.

The platform slowed and connected to a structure of other platforms, right before the enormous abomination. Although it was lifeless and unmoving, the three of them shared the eerie sensation that it was staring at them, with its bright orange eyes, as if aware of their presence.

Shepard proceeded to speak with EDI, and she provided analysis and some hypotheses about the creature. Even while listening to EDI, Shepard couldn't stop staring at it.

"I knew it was a good idea to bring a nuke," Shepard commented as he thought about how they could destroy it, referring to the M-920 Cain strapped to his back. Although not technically a nuclear weapon, the immense explosion it was capable of generating was enough to justify the nickname.

"Use of the M-920 Cain is not necessary, Shepard," EDI said. "The large tubes injecting the fluid are a weak structure link. Destroying them should cause the supports to collapse, and the Reaper to fall."

Just then, they heard the familiar, pulsating winding sound that hover-platforms generated. Collectors were on their way.

"Incoming!" Shepard said loudly, "Get ready!" They jumped behind cover, and in mere seconds the area was filled with the roaring of gunfire and zipping of bullets.

As Tali and Zaeed focused on the Collectors, Shepard pulled out his anti-material rifle so as to destroy the feeding tubes. He aimed, fired, and in an instant an entire tube shattered into a falling hodgepodge of shattered glass, metal, and organic fluid. He ejected his thermal clip, and repeated the attack on another one.

One by one, the four tubes exploded and shattered to pieces. By the time the final Collector died, only one tube remained. It too was destroyed, and just as EDI predicted, the remaining supports were too weak to keep the Reaper's massive body suspended. To the sound of twisting and buckling metal, the entire thing collapsed, falling into the vast pit below them.

When the chaos of the Reaper's collapse ended, Shepard said into his communicator, "Shepard to ground team, status report!"

He received a response that they were well and holding, although the Collectors were unrelenting in their assault. Shepard instructed them, "Head to the Normandy," and then said to Joker, "Joker, prep the engines. I'm about to overload this place and blow it sky high."

"Roger that, Commander," Joker responded.

Shepard then kneeled in front of the nearby reactor control panel, and was preparing to sabotage it, when a call came in from Joker. "Commander, I've got an incoming signal from the Illusive Man. EDI's patching it through."

Tali typed into her omni-tool, and a live holographic transmission of the Illusive Man projected from it.

"Shepard, you've done the impossible," the Illusive Man said.

"I didn't do it alone," Shepard replied, making no effort to hide that he wasn't interested in speaking with Cerberus' leader. "I'm part of a team, and none of this would have been possible without them."

"I'm looking at the schematics EDI uploaded," the Illusive Man sad, unusually eager to get to the point, "A timed radiation pulse would kill the remaining Collectors, but leave the machinery and technology intact. This is our chance, Shepard. They were building a Reaper—that knowledge, that framework, can save us."

"Forget it," Shepard immediately responded, as he stood up from the reactor's access panel and faced the Illusive Man's projection. "This base is an abomination. It liquefied people while they were still alive. It turned them into something horrible. We need to destroy it."

"Don't be shortsighted. Our best chance against the Reapers is to turn their own resources against them. That base is a gift, we can't destroy it," the Illusive Man urged, showing a rare glimpse of emotion in his words.

"Yeah, it's a gift," Shepard said sarcastically. "So was the wooden horse the Trojans decided to keep. This base is too dangerous, who knows what might be unleashed from it. What's to stop you from trying to build your own Reaper? How many millions would you sacrifice for that? What if you can't control the technology here? Forget it—I'm destroying it. We'll fight and win without it."

"Shepard, think about what's at stake!" the Illusive Man exclaimed, now making no attempt at hiding his frustration and desperation, "Think about everything Cerberus has done for you. You—"

Shepard did a dismissing motion with his hand as he turned back toward the reactor control panel, and Tali shut off the transmission. She took great pleasure in cutting off Cerberus' leader; this was actually the first time she had seen him.

"I think you did the right thing, Shepard," Tali said. "It wouldn't feel right using this place after everything we've gone through."

Shepard tampered with the control panel shortly, then turned to look at Tali, and said, "Remember when you offered to loan me a grenade, to blow up Cerberus? How about one to blow up the Collectors, instead?"

Tali laughed, and reached into one of her pockets, pulling out a disc-shaped grenade. She handed it to him, and he dropped it into the control rod of the reactor. After typing some commands, he stood up and said, "Let's move. We have ten minutes before the reactor overloads and—"

At that moment, the platform they stood on began to shake violently, nearly causing them to lose their balance. A loud, mechanical shriek filled the air, and before them emerged a massive, robotic arm that extended high into the air, before slamming down onto the cluster of platforms where they stood. And then, like a great demon ascending straight from Hell, appeared the head of the human Reaper they thought destroyed. It stared at them with its intense, piercing orange eyes. Its other arm also reached high above, and came down before them.

"Uh… orders, Captain?" Tali muttered, keeping her eyes fixed upon the monstrosity.

"I say we get the hell out of here…" Zaeed said, also staring at the awoken monster in awe, instinctively backing away slightly.

Just then, the Reaper opened its mouth and a type of orange energy started to gather within it. It was preparing an attack.

"Take cover!" Shepard yelled, and as they dropped behind some nearby cover, a large barrage of energy bombarded the area before them. Shepard reached behind his back, and grabbed hold of his M-920 Cain. Lugging the heavy piece of equipment for the entire mission was finally going to pay off.

"Shoot the eyes," Shepard ordered the others, "keep it distracted, while I charge the nuke!"

The others pulled out their weapons and began to shoot at the Reaper from behind their cover. Its eyes were a noticeably weak point, and bright fluid splash and poured out of them as they were damaged.

Shepard aimed the nuke launcher, and squeezed its trigger. With a gradually increasing winding noise, the nuke began to vibrate, and flashes of light began to emerge from the end of its barrel as it prepared to launch its devastating payload.

Orange energy once again started to gather at the Reaper's mouth, indicating it too was preparing its primary weapon. "It's going to fire again!" Tali yelled as she got back down behind her cover, "Shepard, get down!"

Shepard ignored her, and kept powering the Cain.

The Reaper was on the brink of unleashing another barrage, when the Cain finally launched its projectile. In an instant, it impacted the great machine; right in the opening of its mouth, where it had been preparing its own attack. An immense explosion erupted within the Reaper's head. Shepard instinctively looked away, and held his breath to avoid burning his lungs with superheated air. The lower half of the Reaper's head burst and shattered to thousands of metal fragments that came pouring down. The sound of metal bending, grinding, and crashing followed the loud explosion, as the Reaper's head collapsed.

The others got up from their cover and looked at the carnage of the dying Reaper. Just then, it slammed down on the platform in its death throes. The entire platform bent and tilted at a steep angle. Both Shepard and Zaeed managed to get some sure footing on one of the unaffected, connecting platforms, but Tali was not so lucky. She lost her balance and fell, and went sliding down, in the direction of the falling Reaper.

Since they had arrived on the Collector Base, Shepard had seen many horrific things. Countless waves of Collectors and husks, humans liquidized alive by nanomachines, torrents of seeker swarms, an embryonic Reaper… but none of it brought him as much terror as watching the purple-draped quarian he loved, sliding away to her death. It was the most frightening sight he had ever seen.

In the immeasurably small split second it took him to react, his mind flashed backed to Tali's words from just a few hours ago, recalling her entire phrase in an instant moment of time.

"_I have so much to live for… so much I want to live to see. So much..."_

"NO!" Shepard yelled as he dived forward, in pursuit of her. He noticed a fixture at the end of the platform he could grab to keep from falling off himself, but his eyes immediately locked on Tali. He watched in terror as he saw her sliding away, kicking down with her feet while her arms flailed, desperately trying to grab onto something—anything—in a futile attempt to preserve her life. Her body language was of a panicked person, which heart-wrenchingly communicated to Shepard how much she wanted to live.

"_I want to see the Reapers defeated. I want to see us continue to share our lives together. I want to see my people return home."_

As she looked up, and saw Shepard sliding toward her, Tali extended one arm while her other three limbs kept threshing about, trying to clutch at anything that could prevent her fall. Had Shepard's mind not already been overwhelmed, he would have found the gesture particularly heartbreaking; he would have noticed the symbolic significance of her reaching out for him, putting her faith in him. If she perished, the image of her outstretched arm would be burned into his mind, and haunt him for the rest of his life.

She was on the brink of falling off the edge, and just then, Shepard's mind realized with absolute certainty what he most dreaded: he wasn't going to reach her in time. She was going to slide off the edge, and be lost forever. The seconds that remained before she plummeted were the longest of Shepard's life. He kept swinging for her hand, but the mere inches that separated them may as well have been light-years.

She slid off the edge, and all but her extended, sinking hand disappeared from view. Resisting the temptation of the most cowardly act of his life—to close his eyes—with one last act of defiance and desperation, Shepard threw forth his arm with all his might.

"_I want us to live on that house by the ocean, where we can listen to that beautiful noise it makes, as we fall asleep in each other's arms, every night."_

He felt his hand impact something, and in possibly the fastest reaction of his life, he gripped as tightly as he could. What followed was the greatest sensation of relief he had ever felt: there was a sudden jolt of weight. He had grabbed her. The thin, soft object he gripped in his hand was her wrist. She lived.

With his other hand tightly grabbing onto the nearby fixture, and his own body nearly over the edge, he held Tali's dangling body from the falling to the great abyss below them, where the mangled, flaming corpse of the Reaper awaited.

Shepard grunted, and curled his arm upwards, lifting her up sufficiently so she could grab the edge and pull herself up. Just as they were climbing back onto the platform, the Reaper's corpse below finally exploded, and the shockwave violently shook the platform, tilting it in the other direction. Shepard and Tali went tumbling down, eventually landing on one of the stationary platforms, where Zaeed awaited. And then, after a sudden collision by a rampant hovering platform, everything went black.

. . .

"Shepard! Shepard, wake up!"

Shepard awoke to Tali's voice, and the feel of her hand rapidly tapping his face. His vision was a blurry mess, but Tali's purple faceplate quickly came into focus above him.

"Oh good... quarians and humans go to the same heaven," Shepard mumbled with a groan and slowly got up, still dazed from the crash. He noticed they were on solid ground.

"Zaeed's hurt!" Tali quickly informed.

"_Zaeed's_ here?" Shepard said as he quickly shook his head from side to side, ending his lightheaded and dazed state. "Damn—we were sent to Hell."

"Quit joking around, and get this goddamn thing off my leg!" Zaeed yelled from where he lay nearby, groaning in pain.

Shepard approached and saw the grotesque sight of Zaeed's lower leg bent at an angle it should have been incapable of being in. The bone had been utterly snapped. A large metal beam rested on top of him, at the point of the break.

Shepard immediately gripped the beam with both arms, lifted it, and tossed it aside. He then gave Zaeed an application of medi-gel. The miracle compound was incapable healing his shattered bones, but its anesthetic properties could at least relieve the pain. He then helped Zaeed up, and put his arm round his back so that Zaeed could lean against him with his arm around Shepard's shoulders, as he stood on his one good foot.

"Tali, call the Normandy. Get a status report," Shepard said.

"Normandy, this is Tali'Zorah," she said, speaking into her communicator. "What's your status? Shepard and I are fine, but Zaeed's injured."

"There you are! Everyone is aboard, we're just waiting on you guys," Joker responded.

"Alright, let's get out of h—" Shepard began to say, when he noticed Collectors some distance away, approaching their position. "Shit. We gotta go, now!"

As Shepard moved in a semi-run, still helping Zaeed, who was hopping along on one foot and using Shepard as a support, Tali summoned her combat drone, Chiktikka, and ordered it to approach the Collectors. They were still a distance away, but hopefully it could slow them down even more so. She then went running as well, quickly catching up to slow-moving duo.

"Tali, go on ahead! We're right behind you," Shepard instructed.

"No, I'm not leaving you guys behind! Those Collectors will catch up soon!"

"There's no time to argue," Shepard responded, "Go on ahead. Make sure the path is clear." He suspected there was nothing ahead, but he knew that giving her a specific reason to go on ahead would be the best way to get her to agree.

After a hesitation, Tali said, "Alright, but I'm not going to go too far. You better call me if those Collectors get within shooting range."

"Alright. Go!" Shepard ordered, and Tali started running at a faster pace, quickly making distance between herself, and Shepard and Zaeed. She soon turned a corner, and was out of sight.

The two men continued in their awkward, slowed pace for a while longer, when Zaeed suddenly let go of Shepard and dropped himself to the ground. With his one good leg, he scooted himself behind some cover.

"Zaeed, what are you doing?" Shepard immediately asked, turning to him.

"Those Collectors will reach us any moment. We'll never make it. You go on ahead." Zaeed said as he grabbed Jessie from his back.

"I'm not leaving you behind! Come on, I'll carry you." Shepard said, approaching Zaeed so as to help him up.

Zaeed immediately pointed Jessie at Shepard and shouted, "Don't you goddamn touch me. I'm not going to let you get yourself killed, carrying my crippled ass. You damn well know you'll never make it. Go. Get out of here. Go take care of your woman. This is what I want—to die a big, goddamn hero, with Jessie."

Shepard hesitated for a moment, and Zaeed once again yelled, "Get the hell out of here before I shoot you myself!" He again pointed Jessie at Shepard, although it was clear it was an empty threat.

After one last hesitation, Shepard gave him a smile, and said, "Thank you, Zaeed. I won't forget this. Good luck, you crazy son of a bitch."

"Go! They're almost here!" Zaeed yelled one last time, and positioned himself over his cover to attack the approaching Collectors.

Shepard took off, running in the direction Tali had gone. After a few seconds, he could hear the sounds of shots being exchanged behind him, echoing within the tunnel he ran in. But even among the roaring gunfire, he could hear Zaeed's taunts and shouts of obscenities at the Collector forces he was engaging. At one point, before all the sound Shepard could hear faded, he even heard an echoing cackle of laughter.

After a distance, Shepard turned another corner, and saw Tali approaching his direction; obviously, she had grown worried and decided to turn back. Shepard waved his arm forward a few times, gesturing her to keep moving ahead. She turned and kept running. With her much lighter frame, lesser amount of equipment, and proportionally more powerful legs, she achieved a greater speed and once again, this time unknowingly, put significant distance between herself and Shepard.

Off in the distance, beyond the cliff they were approaching, appeared a majestic sight: The white and black hull of the Normandy. It ascended seemingly out of nowhere, and hovered near a hover-platform at the edge of the cliff. The airlock opened, and Joker appeared, holding an assault rifle in his hands.

Tali reached the hover-platform, and effortlessly jumped into the airlock. She turned around and just then noticed how far Shepard was. She hadn't realized how much faster she had been running than him. As she looked on at Shepard approaching, she wondered what had happened to Zaeed. It was obvious he hadn't made it—she concluded he likely died along the way. She would have taken a moment to mourn him, if still not so concerned over Shepard.

Suddenly, a massive metal beam fell from above, startling both her and Joker as it smashed onto and knocked away the hovering platform that allowed the easy leap into the airlock. She grew terrified as she looked at the great distance that now existed between the airlock door and the cliff. It seemed too far for Shepard to jump.

_Shit. Shit!_ Shepard thought to himself as he saw the platform knocked away. _I'll never make it! I'm too fucking heavy! Unless…_

With that thought, and while rapidly approaching the edge of the cliff, Shepard intensified his breathing and reached behind his back; he unattached his very heavy Widow rifle. It dropped with a noticeable thud behind him. Then his assault rifle. Then his shotgun. And finally, even his pistol. The Cain had been lost earlier during the chaos of the Reaper's death.

Just as the final weapon dropped to the ground, and he was the lightest he could possibly be, he had reached the edge. With the mightiest push he could summon from his leg, he leaped forward, flying over the chasm, arms swaying in the air to keep his balance.

His arms slammed against the floor of the airlock at the same time as his chest impacted the edge. Even with his body armor, the impact of the blow against his chest knocked the air out of his lungs. He dangled from the side of the Normandy, but the hard, ablative material of his armor around his arms provided virtually no traction against the smooth metal of the airlock floor. He began to slide away, under the weight of his body.

Desperately, he began threshing his arms forward, attempting to clutch at anything available to prevent his fall. It was futile; he kept sliding away.

"I got you, Shepard!" Tali yelled, just as she grabbed one of his arms. With her left foot pressed firmly against the wall to the side of the airlock door, she pushed with her leg, using all her strength to help lift Shepard's weight.

Finally, lifted enough by Tali to get some proper leverage, Shepard helped pull himself up. From the momentum of their struggling, they both fell forward onto the floor. They breathed heavily together, and the door closed behind them.

"Keelah, you're heavy," Tali said between her breaths. "What happened to Zaeed?"

"_Detonation in ten… nine… eight… "_ EDI announced overhead.

"I'll tell you when we're safe," Shepard answered as the two got up on their feet.

Joker limped to the Normandy's bridge and retook control of the ship, proceeding to maneuver it out of the doomed Collector Base. Shepard and Tali ran up behind him, and watched his display screen as the rock and metal of the base all around them disappeared, and into view came the open space of the galactic core.

The Normandy flew at high speed away from the crumbling superstation, and in seconds, the base vanished into an immense explosion. So great was the blast, that for a short period of time, it completely overshadowed even the massive accretion disc of the black hole in the background.

And now, having outran the explosion of the destroyed Collector Base, the entire team was finally able to breathe a collective sigh of relief. Their mission to stop the Collectors had been a success, and the Reapers were dealt another major blow. The joy of the victory was great, and the whole team had earned the right to both celebrate and rest.

But out in dark space, far beyond the edge of the galaxy, countless Reapers were still waiting; still threatening all life in the galaxy. The fight to stop them was far from over.

One chapter may have ended, but another one now awaited Shepard, Tali, and the entire crew of the Normandy.


	26. We're a Team

_**We're a Team**_

"Hey Commander, we're getting a call from the Illusive Man." Joker said over the Normandy's communicator. "Should I even bother patching it through?"

"Go ahead, Joker," Shepard answered. "I'm curious to see just how pissed he is."

Shepard proceeded toward the Normandy's communications room. Like much of the rest of the ship, it was heavily damaged, with multiple wires and tubes hanging from the ceiling and occasional electrical sparks popping into existence. The damage present in the room was yet another testament of the severity and danger of the mission that had ended only a short moment ago.

After pushing a collapsed metal beam out of his way, Shepard approached the communications control panel. The already dim lighting of the room faded to darkness as the table in the center descended, and Shepard's body was scanned to emit a holographic projection to the Illusive Man. Shepard saw Cerberus' leader appear before him, sitting at his glass desk with a cigarette in hand, which was no surprise.

What was unusual, however, was the different vista that appeared behind him this time. The typical star that Shepard had seen before was now gone. In its place was what appeared to be a very blue star, likely a type of white dwarf.

_Hm, he must have moved his station,_ Shepard thought to himself, noting the different star. _How did he move a space station to another star in such a short period of—_

"Shepard," the Illusive Man said curtly, "you're making a habit of costing me more than time and money."

_Here we go._ "Too many lives were lost at that base. I'm not sorry it's gone."

"The first of many lives. The technology from that base could have secured human dominance in the galaxy, against the Reapers and beyond."

"Human dominance, or just Cerberus?"

"Strength for Cerberus is strength for every human. Cerberus _is_ humanity. I should have known you'd choke on the hard decisions. Too idealistic from the start."

"I'm not looking for your approval," Shepard responded. "From now on, I'm doing things my way, whether you agree with me or not."

"Don't turn your back on me, Shepard. I made you; I brought you back from the dead!" the Illusive Man said as he stood up from his desk, noticeably worked up.

"And I did what you wanted; what you brought me back for. I stopped the Collectors, and I'm going to stop the Reapers. _My_ way. I'm done with you, and with Cerberus."

The Illusive Man sat back down and took a drag of his cigarette so as to calm himself. He exhaled and said, "If that's how you feel, Shepard, that's fine. I'll send you coordinates where you can return my ship."

Shepard laughed and said, "I'm sorry, I'm having trouble hearing you. I'm getting a lot of bullshit on this line."

"Don't try my patience. That ship is my property. Like I've said from the start, you're free to go your own way any time you wish. But that doesn't mean you can take my property with you."

"Wow, you're serious, aren't you? All that talk about the importance of stopping the Reapers, and you want to take away my best tool to fight them? And don't give me that garbage about it being your property. I know this has nothing to do with money—you could afford to build ten more Normandys if you wanted. What's the real reason you want it back?"

"That ship is unique."

_Why, because of EDI? Why would he care so much about her? The only other thing unique to this ship is the—_ "I get it," Shepard said. "You want the Normandy for the Reaper IFF that's now integrated into its systems. Why, so you can send teams through the Omega-4 relay and attempt to salvage that base's remains? Forget it. Harbinger is coming and he won't be alone—I need this ship to stop him."

The Illusive Man didn't respond. He just stared intensely at Shepard with his steely-blue, synthetic eyes. "Joker, lose this channel," Shepard said as he turned around and walked away. The holographic display disappeared a second later, and the lights came back on.

Shepard stepped out of the communications room with a small, satisfied smile. He felt happy, having told off the Illusive man and finally broken ties with Cerberus. He felt free.

"EDI," he said out loud, "tell everybody to assemble at the mess hall. I want to say a few things."

"Very well, Shepard," EDI responded.

Overhead, Shepard heard EDI's ship-wide announcement as he walked through the armory. He stepped into the CIC, and walked toward the elevator. Despite the crew having been rescued a short while ago, the CIC was empty. EDI was still handling the crew's responsibilities, and Shepard knew most of them were already in the lower decks, either recovering from their traumatic ordeal aboard the Collector Base, or helping clear some of the debris scattered throughout the damaged ship.

He called the elevator, but there was a noticeable wait before it arrived. When the door opened, he saw Tali inside. She was coming down from their quarters on the top deck.

"I heard the announcement," she said as Shepard stepped inside. "What's up?"

"There's just some things I want to say to the team." Shepard answered. "I want to talk to them in person."

As the door closed, Shepard noticed Tali held her right wrist with her left hand, and was rubbing it gently. "Is something wrong with your wrist, Tali?" he asked.

"Yes there is, and it's all your fault," Tali answered in teasing way. "It's completely bruised. If you had squeezed any harder when you grabbed me during that fall, you probably would have broken it."

The door opened and they stepped out into the crew deck as Shepard responded. "Tali… seeing you sliding down that platform was the scariest thing I saw in that entire base."

Tali felt a little disappointed that he responded to her obvious tease with a serious response, but she understood that he probably didn't want to make light of how she had almost died. He must have felt the same way as she did, when she saw him nearly fall off the Normandy's airlock. She didn't say anything.

As they walked to the mess area, Shepard asked, "How are you feeling, by the way?" He referred to her health in regards to their intimate experience together, before going through the Omega-4 relay. Hours had passed since then, and a reaction would be noticeable by now.

"A little sick," she replied, "but I'm okay. I'm well enough to help out around the ship."

At the mess area there were already several members of the crew as Shepard and Tali approached. They waited a few minutes longer as the others arrived, gathering around them.

Once everyone was there, Shepard finally started to talk. "I called you all together because there's a few things I need to say."

He continued, "First of all, I want to tell you that I'm extremely proud of all of you. Everyone here did their job admirably. No one else in the galaxy could have pulled off what we did. We've been a team since we started on this mission to stop the Collectors, and today we succeeded thanks to our teamwork. Because of us, the Reapers have been set back once again. After everything we've accomplished today, I'm now more confident than ever that we'll succeed in stopping them."

Shepard paused a moment. "Unfortunately, however, our mission today wasn't without some loss. As all of you already know, Zaeed Massani didn't make it. He was injured during our battle with the human Reaper, and during our escape he chose to stay behind and hold off the Collectors that were chasing us, so that I could get away. He sacrificed himself for me, and I will never forget that.

"Zaeed and I never really saw eye to eye on a lot of things. Back on that refinery on Zorya, I thought he was going to going to completely quit on us when Vido got away, due to my decision to focus on saving the workers. We settled things, but I know that it always bothered him that Vido escaped."

Shepard then briefly chuckled and said, "And there was also Zaeed's obsession with Jessie, his old rifle, which always seemed silly to me. But, I have to admit; after having to leave my favorite weapon behind on the Collector Base, I think I can relate to how he felt."

There was a period of silence before Shepard continued speaking. He wasn't sure what else to say, and decided to move on. "He'll be missed, but he'll always be remembered," he said, and after a reflective pause, changed the subject.

He continued, "The main reason I called you all here, is to let you know that I have broken ties with Cerberus. Back on the Collector Base, I had the choice of either destroying the base or keeping it; I chose to destroy it. I know some of you agree with my decision, and some of you don't. It was ultimately my call, and I believe I did the right thing.

"However, the Illusive Man disagrees, and during my recent talk with him, I decided to finally break all affiliation with him and his group. I'm telling you this, because I know many of you are members of Cerberus, and it's possible not all of you are interested in leaving them.

"We are currently on our way to the Citadel for repairs, and also because I intend to contact the Council, hoping that all the data and information we recorded from the Collector Base is enough to convince them that the Reapers are real. When we arrive at the Citadel, if any of you wish to leave my command and rejoin Cerberus, you will be free to do so. The same goes for any members of the team that were recruited to stop the Collectors; you all have the option to leave. But I sincerely hope none of you do. I urge you all to stay, and keep fighting."

There was another moment of silence after Shepard's words. This time, it was Mess Sergeant Rupert Gardner who broke the quiet. "Commander, when we were all trapped inside those pod things back with the Collectors, it was you who came for us, not the Illusive Man. I know I can't speak for everyone here, but I'm sticking with you. I ain't leaving."

Throughout the crew emerged various positive murmurs and words of agreement

"Kenneth and I are staying too," Gabriella Daniels said, loud enough to be heard over the others.

"Aye," Kenneth agreed, "this ship would fall apart without us. Especially since you never let Tali get any work done in engineering…"

Laughter erupted from the crewmembers, along with a few occasional whistles and hollers. Shepard laughed as well, and placed his arm around Tali's waist, who had been standing close to him. She also giggled quietly, although she felt embarrassed from the sudden attention, and blushed under her mask.

"I don't think you'll need to worry about losing any of us, Commander," Doctor Chakwas said, with a distinctly warm smile on her mature, slightly wrinkled face.

"I hope so," Shepard responded. "I've grown attached to all of you, and I want all of you to keep helping win against the Reapers."

After his words, the noise from the rest of the team died down. Shepard then said, "Well, that's mostly all I wanted to say. You can all go back to—you know what, forget about your duties; forget about the repairs and clearing the debris. Let's worry about that when reach the Citadel. Our mission was a success; this is a time for celebration. Come on, let's serve some drinks and food, and enjoy ourselves. What do you all say?"

The crowd cheered in agreement. "Way ahead of you, Commander!" Gardner said as he walked toward his cooking area. "I'll get some food going right away."

"Great idea, Shepard," Garrus said, and then turned to Jacob. "Hey Jacob, help me bring some drinks," Jacob nodded in agreement, and the two went walking toward the portside observation deck to bring drinks from the bar.

Shepard then called out, "EDI, why don't you play some music?"

"Very well, Shepard," she responded. A second later, from the overhead speaker system was heard:

"_Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do,_

_I'm half crazy all for the love of you…"_

Complete silence filled the room, and everyone stood still, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"That was a joke," EDI said.

"That's not funny, EDI!" Joker yelled. "Not funny, AT ALL!"

. . .

Shepard sat quietly at the couch in his cabin, leaning forward with a glass of wine in his hand. Only about two hours had passed since the celebration started. Although it was still in full swing, and he was actually the one who had initiated it, Shepard left the group early so as to have some peace and tranquility.

It wasn't uncommon for him to feel somewhat tired after missions, and the mission earlier on the Collector homeworld had been one of the most exhausting ones of his life, both mentally and physically. During the celebration, he had been relatively inactive. Aside from dancing with Tali for a while, he had spent much of it just sitting at one of the tables, sipping his drink, calmly observing the others as he relaxed, deep in thought, reflecting over recent events. Zaeed's loss, the damage the ship had suffered, parting from Cerberus, and whatever the future may hold, were all on his mind.

He took a sip of his wine, and placed the glass on the table in front of him. A short while later, the door to the cabin opened, and he saw Tali approach. He smiled to himself, and looked forward to hearing her voice, which always had the seemingly miraculous ability to bring him peace and happiness.

"Is everything okay?" Tali asked as she approached. "You seemed a little distant during the get-together; you left in the middle of it."

Tali had actually enjoyed the celebration a lot. Seeing the whole crew together, socializing with one another, was something that appealed to her. Being among a crowd of people that had a real sense of family was very reminiscent to the best parts of her upbringing on the flotilla.

"I'm alright, sweetie," Shepard answered with a light smile. "I just feel a little drained after everything that happened today."

Tali sat down next to him and leaned in close, placing her hands on his shoulders. She began to rub them gently. "Baby I didn't know you were tired," she said in a sweet voice. "I wouldn't have made you dance with me if I knew."

"Don't be silly, dancing with you was the most fun I had since… well, since right before our mission," he said with a smirk, referring to their earlier intimacy, and Tali giggled in response. "Besides, I'm not really physically tired. It's just some missions are a little taxing on me, mentally, and this one was really took its toll. I have to pull my weight with the combat like everybody else, but I also need to lead and give instructions; I have to pay attention to so many things. Not to mention everything we saw on that base. I just felt like I needed some peace.

"I'm also feeling a little worried about what will happen when we reach the Citadel. It's hard to imagine the Council ignoring us this time, after all the data we gathered from the Collectors. But sometimes it just feels so hopeless with them."

Tali stopped rubbing his shoulders, and scooted in closely, leaning against him with her arm around his waist. "Don't worry about that now," she said. "Like you said earlier, this moment should be for celebration—for happiness. For you especially; you've worked so hard to stop the Collectors, and we've finally done it."

Shepard smiled from Tali's comforting words, finding himself feeling a bit better already. He grabbed his glass of wine, and took a final gulp, finishing it. As he was about to put it down, he stopped, looked at the glass for a second, and then turned to look at Tali.

"I just realized something," he said, "I have _never_ seen you drink."

Tali laughed and said, "No, I guess you haven't—I've never drank anything alcoholic before. Such drinks were rare on the flotilla, and drinking anything besides water requires taking my mask off."

Shepard poured a small amount of wine in the glass, and said, "You can take your mask off in here. Go ahead, give it a try." While not all alcoholic drinks were universally safe for both levo and dextro chirality races, most of them were, including the wine Shepard was now offering Tali.

"I really shouldn't take my mask off right now. It's only been a few hours since we… you know."

"Tali, you're not fooling me," Shepard said. "I've seen you take your mask off in here while sick many times before. Come on, give it a taste."

"And how do I know you're not just trying to get me drunk?" Tali asked in teasing, playful way. "I've seen vids where guys get women they're interested in drunk…"

Shepard laughed quietly and leaned in close to her, reaching up for her mask and removing it. They shared a soft kiss right after. "As cute as you would be a little drunk, I know that's hardly necessary for us to have fun together…" he said with a subtle smirk, and Tali instinctively bit her lower lip, attempting to conceal her smile. "And besides, you're not going to get drunk from a quarter glass of wine," he added, and held up the glass for her to take.

She took it gingerly, and brought it to her lips, taking a small sip. She noticed it left a somewhat sour and bitter taste in the back of her tongue as she swallowed it. It was interesting to her that while the wine was fairly cool, as soon as it reached her stomach, it felt very warm. She was also surprised at how quickly she felt some slight lightheadedness; it was almost instant.

She took another sip, and placed the glass down on the table in front of them. She said, "Honestly… I don't see the appeal. I think I'll stick with water."

Shepard chuckled and said, "Well, this is pinot noir, so I'm not surprised you don't like it. I'm not even sure why _I_ was drinking it."

After a brief moment, Tali got up and gently pushed down on Shepard's shoulders, encouraging him to lie down on his back. She then crawled on top of him, and began to run her hand through his hair as she hovered right above him. With her face very close to his, she said, "I might as well have something I _do_ like, before putting my mask back on…"

Tali closed her eyes and leaned in, letting her lips make contact with Shepard's, for a long and enjoyable kiss.


	27. Ah Yes, Reapers

_**Ah Yes, Reapers**_

"Are you sure we have time? We don't want to be late for the meeting with the Council," Tali said as she followed Shepard through C-Sec Academy.

"Don't worry, the meeting isn't for a little while," Shepard responded. "And it'll be quick. I just want to see what they've gotten in stock. Might as well do it while we're here."

They entered a hallway, and proceeded through it in the direction of the C-Sec requisitions office. Tali asked, "Was this where you bought my shotgun?"

"That's right," Shepard answered with a small smile. "Hey, maybe we'll find you a new one."

"Thanks, but that's not necessary," Tali said. "There's no way I'll part with my current one. With all the modifications I've done, I bet it's just as good, if not better, than anything they have now."

They reached their destination, and as they entered the office Shepard saw a familiar face. The current requisitions officer was the very same turian he had done business with over two years ago.

"Can I help—Commander Shepard, is that you?" the officer asked, surprised, from behind his desk.

"It's been a long time," Shepard greeted as he approached and shook hands.

"This is a surprise. I had heard you were dead," the officer said.

"It's a long story," Shepard said. "But as you can see I'm alive, and I'm still a Spectre. I'd like to look at your Spectre equipment."

"Sure thing, Commander," the turian said as he got up and walked toward the storage room to the side. Shepard and Tali followed him in. The room was full of various pieces of equipment; body armor, weapons, weapon modifications, and other assorted items, all neatly organized on racks and shelves. The turian walked past it all until he reached the end of the room, where he typed into a control pad next to a wall of sturdy metal shutters. They then automatically slid open, revealing advanced, Spectre-exclusive prototype weapons.

"We've gotten some nice things since the last time you were here," the turian said. Shepard and Tali looked over the weapons; all of them were that familiar black and dark grey color, with red indicator lights.

While she wasn't quite the gun nut that Shepard was, Tali found herself looking at them, curious about them from an engineering and tech perspective. Tali picked up one of the shotguns to look it over.

"I'm sorry, miss," the turian said, "you're not authorized to handle these."

"She's with me," Shepard immediately stated, looking right at the turian.

After some hesitation, the turian said, "My apologies."

Tali didn't say anything. She looked over the shotgun a short while longer, and placed it back, not particularly impressed. From what she could tell, it was largely the same as her current one. The biggest difference was that it was specifically designed to use thermal clips, and it of course lacked her various modifications. She was a bit curious about some of the other weapons before her, mainly the handgun, but she chose not to inspect them; she didn't want to cause any problems with the requisitions officer.

"What is _that_," Shepard enthusiastically said, his eye suddenly caught by a weapon near the end of the rack. In its collapsed form, it resembled an intricate, long and solid tube, very reminiscent of his old M-98 Widow.

"That's the HMWAM anti-material rifle," the turian answered.

Shepard approached it and picked it up. With a look of being pleasantly surprised, he asked, "How much does this thing weigh? I had a very similar weapon, and this is noticeably lighter."

"About thirty-two kilograms," the turian said. "The weapon you say you had—was it an M-9x?"

"That's right, an M-98," Shepard answered, now holding the weapon in its opened form, momentarily staring down the sight.

"This rifle was actually modeled after anti-material rifles such as the M-9x line," the turian explained. "However, it has a few design tweaks, and it's built with the same advanced alloy as other HMW weapons, so it's quite light. But between its top of the line mass accelerator and the frictionless materials used for the interior of the barrel, it packs one hell of a punch."

As Tali watched Shepard looking it over, she teased, "I'm glad these weapons are rustproof, because you're getting drool all over it."

Amused, Shepard responded, "I can't help it. This weapon is the second sexiest thing in this room." He gave Tali a little smirk.

The turian was silently taken back by the comment, immediately realizing what Shepard meant. He felt surprised—almost shocked—to realize that Shepard and this female quarian were a couple.

He wondered whether he should say something, but ultimately chose not to comment on it. "I'm guessing you're interesting in buying it?" the turian asked, referring to the anti-material rifle Shepard still held.

"Very interested. Let me see how much it co—" Shepard looked at the small display that listed the price, below where the rifle had been hanging. His jaw nearly dropped.

"Tali… how much do you think we could get if we sold the Normandy?" he asked.

"Oh come on, it can't be that expen—" Tali looked at the price, "Keelah…"

Shepard collapsed the rifle into its compact form, and placed it back. He said, "I'll come back in a few years when I have enough."

The turian laughed and said, "I'm sorry, Commander. If it's any consolation, I've always thought it was stupid that you Spectres had to buy your own equipment."

"I mentioned the same thing over two years ago," Tali said.

After a quick goodbye, Shepard and Tali departed from the storage room and left the requisitions office.

As they were walking through C-Sec again, Tali said, "It's too bad we couldn't afford to buy you that weapon. I could tell you really wanted it."

"We could," Shepard said. "But it wouldn't be right to spend so much on something for myself."

"What? We actually have that many credits?"

"Our… _former employer_," Shepard said, preferring to avoid mentioning Cerberus or its leader within C-Sec, "provided funding after our successful missions. We also earned a lot through salvage. So we actually have a quite a few hundred thousand credits."

"Shepard you should have bought it then," Tali said. "You deserve it."

"Thank you Tali, but I wouldn't feel comfortable spending that much on a weapon. We still need to pay for supplies and the repairs being done on the Normandy. Not to mention that if the Council still refuses to accept the truth about the Reapers, we'll be on our own."

They stepped into the elevator that would take them up to the Presidium. Tali then said, "I'm sure they'll listen this time. We managed to record so much data from the Collector base; we have proof that the Collectors were building a Reaper. They can't ignore that. It proves that Sovereign wasn't a geth creation, like everyone has been saying."

"I hope so," Shepard said.

As the elevator ascended, Tali asked, "By the way, didn't you want Garrus to come with us to see the Council? Where is he?"

"He had some things to take care of. He said he'd meet us by the entrance to Citadel Tower."

A short period of time passed during the elevator ride. Shepard looked at Tali, and with a smile he said, "Do you remember when we first met, Tali? We took this same elevator to reach the human embassy, after that fight in the alley."

Tali turned and stepped closer. She stood in front of him and placed her hands on his upper arms, standing very close and looking right at his eyes. She said, "How could I forget? That was the best day of my life; it was when I met you…"

Shepard placed his hands on her lower back, lightly pressing her body against his. He then leaned his head down slightly, and bumped his forehead against the top of Tali's helmet. They then simply stared at each other's eyes for a long time, smiling, not saying a word.

"Embarrassed. It was not my intention to intrude," a monotone voice suddenly said from the side. The elevator had reached the Presidium, and an elcor stood at the now opened doors.

Tali and Shepard both laughed quietly and pulled away. "We were just on our way," Shepard said as the two exited the elevator.

"Happily amused. Have a pleasant day, you two," the elcor said as he lumbered into the elevator.

Tali and Shepard were now walking inside the Presidium, the vast ring of the Citadel that held all five wards together. High above them was its blue, partly cloudy artificial sky, and off to their side was the lake that spanned the length of the ring. Various trees could be seen around it, and the perpetual splashing sound of its fountains could clearly be heard, as well as the occasional tweeting of birds.

They walked together, hand in hand, and Shepard noticed how Tali kept staring at the lake as they moved. He said, "I remember the first time you were up here… you were so impressed by that lake."

"I still am," she said. "Building a lake like that on a space station is incredible. We had nothing like this back on the flotilla. The liveships have vast fields of agriculture within their multiple levels, but there are no lakes or rivers in them. The crops are all watered with automated irrigation systems."

Something suddenly occurred to Shepard, after hearing Tali mention the lack of bodies of water among the flotilla ships. He asked, "Tali… do you know how to swim?"

"What?" she asked, caught off guard by the strange question. "Why do you ask?"

"It just occurred to me because you said you didn't have anything like this on the flotilla," he answered, and then asked again, "so, do you?"

"Um…" she mumbled, sounding embarrassed, "I, uh… there's no reason for us to be taught how to… no. No I don't…"

Shepard chuckled quietly, more so because of how cute she was when embarrassed, than because she didn't know how to swim. With their relationship having blossomed, and the two of them now so close, it had been a long time since he saw her embarrassed like that around him. He had always found it adorable.

"I don't see why that amuses you," Tali said in a slightly defensive tone. "It's not like there's ever been a need for me to learn."

"I just thought your reaction was cute," Shepard said. "But, there's no reason for you to be embarrassed. Hell, how many of our team can swim? Grunt was raised in a small tank, and I'm not even sure if krogan can swim. Legion would sink like a rock. It would be suicide for Thane to go swimming. Jack probably never learned, either."

Feeling better, Tali briefly giggled and said, "You've figured out our team's only weakness: water. Let's hope the Reapers don't find out and build some kind of aquatic base."

A short moment later they reached the entrance of Citadel Tower, and met with Garrus, who was already there, sitting on a nearby bench as he waited.

"Garrus, do you know how to swim?" Shepard asked.

"Uh… what?" Garrus said, baffled by the random question. "Well, yeah, I know how to swim. Although turians aren't as effective at it as humans. Why do you ask?"

Amused, Shepard said, "Just curious."

Garrus shrugged, and the three stepped into the elevator that would take them to the top of Citadel Tower, were the Council awaited.

After it began its ascent, Garrus asked, "So, Shepard, why exactly do you want us to come with you for your meeting with the Councilors?"

"They're politicians," Shepard answered. "Diplomacy with politicians is an interesting thing. Subtle actions, gestures, and manipulations can mean just as much as words with them. I think having you two with me will help our case."

"How so?"

"Having other people to reinforce what I say about the Reapers may help. I suddenly don't sound so crazy if I have others to back up my claims; it's like having witnesses. But there's a reason I wanted you two specifically. You guys were with me when this whole mess with the Reapers started. The Councilors will remember that it was Tali's evidence that implicated Saren, and they'll remember your prior investigation to bring him down, too. And probably most importantly of all, it was you two who were with me when we battled Saren up here."

Shepard continued, "It's been so long since all this happened... maybe if they see us all still together, fighting for the same cause, they'll believe us."

There was a moment of silence. Tali stood near the rear glass wall of the elevator, with her hands on the rail. They were about a third of the way to the top, and they had a magnificent view of the wards beyond. "It really has been a long time, hasn't it?" she asked. "Keelah, it feels like so long ago. So much has happened since our mission to stop Saren."

Shepard stepped closer and joined her in admiring the view. He said, "It's funny how we're in the same place as when all this started, well over two years ago. Ascending this tower, preparing to make our case before the Councilors. It's like we've come full circle."

"At least there's no Saren this time," commented Garrus.

Garrus' words resonated in Shepard's mind, triggering a train of thought which, to Shepard's dismay, was not new to him.

_Maybe there _is, he thought to himself.

The view of the Citadel wards beyond the glass suddenly became an unfocused blur as Shepard's eyes focused on his own reflection. Before him was a Spectre riddled with cybernetic implants, and who knew of the existence of the Reapers. A Spectre who travelled in a sentient starship, had a potential cure for the genophage, made contact with the rachni, and was even allied with a geth.

_So many parallels with him…_

His eyes then suddenly shifted to the reflection of Tali, next to his own. He looked at the woman he loved, as she stood there in her black suit, wrapped in a purple veil, with a steady light-blue light below her glossy, purple mask.

_No... I'm nothing like Saren. He gave up, but I never will. I'll never bow before the Reapers._

Shepard's mind suddenly snapped away from his current thoughts, as he heard Garrus' voice.

"So, Tali, you really didn't miss these elevator rides?" Garrus asked, alluding to a previous discussion they once had.

"No," Tali responded. "And like the last time you brought this up, I'm ending this conversation."

"But these rides are an opportunity to share! Especially now that you don't have your shotgun with you," Garrus said, clearly amused. "Come on… tell me again about your immune system."

"My Spectre boyfriend can tell you about it," she said.

Garrus then responded, slightly mumbling, "I'm not actually worried, but, uh, maybe it is best if we drop this topic for now…"

Shepard chuckled quietly at their exchange. Suddenly, after his recent bleak thoughts, he found himself feeling happy and optimistic again. He was happy that Tali and Garrus were with him. They were his best friends, and a reminder of everything worth fighting for. They had shared the entire span of their fight against the Reapers, alongside him.

The elevator came to a stop and they stepped out, now at the top of Citadel Tower. A small distance from the elevator, they saw a security gate and two turian C-Sec officers.

"A security gate? That wasn't here before," Tali noted as they approached.

"There's been a lot of paranoia after the geth attack," Garrus said. "It doesn't surprise me at all."

They reached it and Shepard said to the two officers, "Hello, I have a meeting with the Council."

"Go on through, one at a time," one of the officers said, gesturing toward the scanning gate. Shepard stepped through first, and its alarm sounded.

"Are you carrying firearms of any kind?" the officer asked, although it was clear by the casual civilian clothing Shepard currently wore, that he had nothing on him.

"No," Shepard answered. "I do have some cybernetic medical implants. Do you think that may be the cause?"

"It's unlikely, these scanners are programmed to identify and ignore all standard medical implants," the officer responded.

"My implants aren't exactly standard," Shepard confessed. The turian then approached and scanned him with his omni-tool.

After a few seconds, he said, "I see. I don't know what most of this stuff is, but I'm not picking up anything that looks dangerous. And according to this, you're a Spectre. Go on through, sir."

After Shepard stepped through, Garrus did so as well, with no incident. Tali then attempted to pass, but the gate alarm sounded once again.

"Don't worry about it. Go on through, miss," the turian said after looking at her briefly, and noting she carried no weapons. "You're the first quarian I've seen up here, but these security gates are notorious for false positives with quarians. Something about your exo-suits messes up their readings."

"I can see that happening," Tali said as she passed through. She then asked, "I'm curious, does it happen with volus?"

The turian answered, "No. Their exo-suits are nearly always commercially manufactured, so the scanners come preconfigured to recognize them."

"That makes sense," she said.

Once they had cleared the security gate, they proceeded through the great chamber before them. It had been repaired of all the damage caused by the geth, and looked the same as it had the first time they came up. Dimly lit, with various illuminated trees planted throughout, and diplomats and politicians walking about, many conversing with one another. Off in the distance, straight ahead, was the large window behind where the Councilors would stand, shining brightly from Widow, the nearby star. The Council meeting area was their destination, but not before they climbed up several stairs.

As they walked through the chamber, they found Councilor Anderson waiting at the foot of the final stairs that needed to be ascended.

"Commander, it's good to see you again," Anderson said as he saw Shepard and his team approaching. They shook hands. "Let me be the first to say welcome back, and congratulations on your successful mission."

"Thank you Anderson. I'm glad to be here," Shepard greeted in return.

Anderson had reacquainted with Garrus not that long ago, during the time between Shepard's awakening and Tali's rejoining of the Normandy. But this was the first time Anderson had seen Tali in over two years, and he remembered that Shepard and her had been close by the end of their mission to stop Saren.

"Tali'Zorah," Anderson said, sounding pleasantly surprised to see her. He also shook her hand. "It's been a long time."

"Thank you, Councilor Anderson," she responded.

"The Commander still has you running around the galaxy with him, huh?"

"Ha, yeah. But despite how often I get shot at because of him, there's nowhere else I'd rather be." Tali looked at Shepard briefly, who looked back and smiled.

"I'm glad you feel that way. Against the Reapers, Shepard's going to need you, Garrus, and anyone else he can talk into helping him." Anderson said.

"That's why we're here, Anderson," Shepard said. "I'm hoping that with all the data we recovered from the Collector base, we'll finally be able to convince the other Councilors of the Reapers' existence. Can you tell me what their thoughts on the data are?"

"Unfortunately, no," Anderson answered. "I just got back myself. I've been on Earth the last few days, attending some meetings with delegates of the UNAS and EU. Udina's still there, in fact; he can't get enough of that stuff."

"Good, he can stay on Earth," Shepard said. "That way I know I'll never have to deal with him again."

Anderson chuckled and asked, "You really have no interest in ever visiting Earth, Commander?"

"None whatsoever. I got enough of Earth during my childhood; I can't imagine ever having a good enough reason to go there again."

Tali was well aware that Shepard had little love for his home world, but as she listened to him talk about it, she still felt a bit saddened. It was hard for her to imagine anyone speak negatively about their own planet.

"I suppose I can't blame you," Anderson said; he was aware of Shepard's rough childhood. He then decided to change subject, and discuss the upcoming meeting. "Tell me, what was it you discovered from the Collectors? What do you plan on telling the rest of the Council?"

"We discovered a few things, but most significant of all was their reason for abducting the colonists. They were melting down their bodies to create some grey, organic goo, which they then used in the construction of a Reaper; a human Reaper."

"Damn…" Anderson whispered in restrained horror. "And you say you acquired actual data and analysis on all this? There's no way the other Councilors will be able to ignore you this time."

"I hope you're right. I don't know what else we can do to convince them that the Reapers are real. But just in case, I'm going to avoid jumping straight into a discussion about them. Maybe it'll be best to warm them up first."

"True enough," Anderson said, then looked over his shoulder in the direction of the top of the stairs. "Come on, the meeting will start soon. Let's get ready. I'm going to stand with you."

The whole group then walked up the final flight of stairs and stood in the speaker's area before the Councilors; the same area they stood when Shepard became a Spectre. The same area where their mission to stop the Reapers began. And the same area where they faced off against Saren, well over two years ago.

After a short wait, the other three Councilors—the asari, the turian, and the salarian—gathered on the far side of the room, each one at their personal consoles. The asari was in the middle, the turian on the left, and the salarian on the right.

The asari was the first to speak. "Commander Shepard, we are glad to see that you have returned safely, and that your affiliation with Cerberus has been brought to an end. We are also pleased to see your colleagues, Garrus Vakarian and Tali'Zorah, still with you and well. We haven't forgotten their efforts in aiding you to stop Saren."

"Indeed," said the salarian councilor. "We also congratulate you on successfully discovering the true source of the attacks on your human colonies, and putting an end to them."

"Thank you, Councilors," Shepard responded. He stood proudly; upright and with his hands held behind his back.

"With all that said," the turian councilor now spoke, "was it really necessary to completely wipe out the Collectors? I'm sure you were eager to vindicate the attacks on your colonies, but do you feel that gave you the right to decide the fate of an entire people?"

The asari councilor appended, "I would have to agree. Was there no other way? We know so little about the Collectors."

Once again, Shepard found himself particularly annoyed by the turian councilor. He said, "When I let the rachni live, this same Council was unhappy over my decision. It seems that any decision I could have made would have been met with disapproval.

"But I digress. No, Councilors, there was no other way. The Collectors needed to be wiped out. They were building a Reaper; and in doing so, they had abducted hundreds of thousands of colonists. We estimated that millions more would have been necessary for its completion. Destroying their base—their homeworld—was our only solution. Have you looked over the data we gathered from it?"

"Yes we have," the asari said. "What you provided proved most fascinating. And enlightening."

The salarian then said, "The analysis you provided over what the Collectors were constructing showed a number of structural similarities to some of the salvage we recovered from Sovereign. Our scientific advisors are confident that they do in fact share a similar origin.

"There is something I am curious about, however, and I'd like your opinion on it. Despite the similarities, what you encountered among the Collectors appeared to be vastly smaller than Sovereign; in fact, it doesn't appear that it could have been functional as a starship. What is your take on this?"

"After our mission, my ship's—" Shepard began to say, but paused, deciding it was not a good idea to tell the Council that the Normandy contained an illegal AI. "…science team, hypothesized that what we saw was only the very core of the Reaper. Possibly the Reaper's central computer; something to that effect. Once completed, it would have been housed inside a massive shell such as Sovereign's, complete with weapons and engines."

"Very good, Commander," the asari said. "Our advisors hypothesized something similar after their comparisons with Sovereign's wreckage."

There was a brief period in which the councilors privately spoke to each other.

The asari then turned back to Shepard and said, "The last time you were here, you tried to tell us that Sovereign was not a geth creation. We dismissed your claims because there was no other logical explanation for its origin. We were aware that certain things didn't quite add up, specifically in regards to the difference in its design and weaponry, compared to the geth cruisers that aided in the attack. But since nothing we recovered suggested that Sovereign was so advanced as to be beyond the geth's technological abilities, we decided it was a creation of theirs.

"However, Commander Shepard, with the data and evidence you provided us, you have shown us that we were wrong. It doesn't happen often, but it's always unfortunate when we have to accept that we have made a mistake."

Shepard listened to the asari, unable to hide the smile on his face. He was happy; excited. Finally, after everything, the Council seemed to have been convinced of the truth. For a moment, Shepard glanced at Anderson, who glanced back, smiling proudly at him.

"Thanks to your efforts," the asari continued, "we now know that it was in fact the Collectors who built Sovereign. We still don't know exactly how it came into the possession of Saren and the geth, but with the Collectors gone, we can at least know we won't be threatened in such a way again."

Shepard's optimistic smile instantly vanished. A look of confusion and disbelief painted his face.

"What?" he muttered, and then said loudly, "No! No, that's not right at all. The Collectors didn't build Sovereign! The Collectors were just puppets of the Reapers!"

The Councilors were visibly surprised by Shepard's statement.

"You're _still_ perpetuating that nonsense that the Reapers are a race of sentient starships?" the turian asked.

"This is surprising, Commander," the asari added. "You yourself have provided the evidence that the machines you refer to as Reapers are simply dreadnaughts created by the Collectors. You have even witnessed one being constructed by them, in person."

The turian then said, "Frankly, I'm baffled that you still submit yourself to Saren's obvious hoax. You proved it yourself: the 'Reapers,'" the turian used his fingers to quote the word; Shepard's left eye involuntarily twitched at seeing the gesture, "...are nothing but advanced creations of the Collectors. Your belief that they're actually a race of sentient starships waiting in dark space, intent on wiping out all organic life, is nothing but a myth."

"It's not a myth!" Tali snapped. "I can back up everything Shepard has told you. So can Garrus. The Reapers are real, and they're a threat to us all!"

Garrus also spoke up for Shepard. "It's true. We spoke with Sovereign on Virmire, and on Ilos we spoke with a prothean VI. Not to mention that during our mission to stop the Collectors, we encountered numerous Collector drones under the direct control of a Reaper called Harbinger, who we believe is their leader."

"You should listen to these three," Anderson stated. "They're the ones who hunted down Saren. They're the ones who followed his trail and encountered everything he encountered. And they're the ones who put in an end to his plans, right here, in this very room. You need to have faith in them."

"We assure you, Councilor Anderson," the salarian said, "we have not forgotten the sacrifices Commander Shepard and his team have made for both our sake, and for the rest of the galaxy."

"With that said," the asari then said, speaking directly to Anderson, "you yourself are part of this Council. You know how we must do things. We cannot act on something like this with mere testimony, even from people such as Shepard and his colleagues. We need solid evidence to make drastic decisions, and all the evidence we have been provided, points to something very different than what the Commander believes."

Anderson then said, "How do you account for everything they encountered and witnessed? Both on their mission to stop Saren, and the Collectors? They're not liars, and you can't ignore that."

"I believe it can be very simply explained," the asari answered. "At some point, Saren made contact with the Collectors, and managed to acquire Sovereign from them. He then used it to manipulate the geth into believing his fictitious tale that it was a member of a race of other sentient machines; the pinnacle of the geth's own kind. He deceived the geth, just as he deceived you, Commander," she gestured at Shepard, "and the rest of your team."

The turian then added, also speaking directly to Shepard, "Everything you've encountered—the supposed communication with Sovereign on Virmire, the VI on Ilos—they were all obviously manufactured by Saren to make his deception all the more convincing."

There was a brief period of quiet. Shepard stared up at the Councilors, his face tense, silently communicating his obvious frustration.

The asari broke the brief quiet, and said, "Commander Shepard, there is a wise human principle known as 'Occam's Razor.' It states that the simplest explanation is often the correct one. Perhaps you should consider that."

"Don't insult me," Shepard stated with noticeable contempt. "I know what Occam's Razor is, and your interpretation isn't even accurate. The simplest explanation can only be the correct one when it actually explains everything. If you had only seen what I've seen—"

"We haven't, Commander," the turian immediately interrupted. "Perhaps if you could complete a single mission without detonating some kind of nuclear device, or wiping out an entire race, we might have more to go on than just your dreams and the testimonies of your subordinates."

_Fuck you, asshole. Fuck you._

Shepard thought, then sighed quietly, attempting to calm himself down. He subtly shook his head and said, "I wish I could be surprised. Before this meeting, I wanted to be optimistic that this Council would finally open their eyes to the truth, but deep down inside, I expected something like this. After everything I've done—everything I've sacrificed—you still refuse to believe me. I don't need this; this meeting is done. I need to go and prepare. The Reapers are coming, and _someone_ has to try and stop them."

An interval passed, and the asari, making little attempt to hide her own impatience, simply stated, "Very well, Commander. This meeting is adjourned."

With the meeting officially over, Shepard immediately turned around and walked away from the speaker's position, descending the stairs. Tali quickly followed, aware of how disappointed and frustrated he must feel.

"I'm so sorry," she said once they were at the bottom of the immediate stairs. "I can't believe they still refuse to believe you."

Shepard stopped and turned. He exhaled quietly, and said in a surprisingly calm voice, "Thanks, Tali, but it doesn't matter. Part of me expected something like this; it's frustrating, but this isn't the first time I've had to listen to their blind nonsense. However, like I said, it doesn't matter. We don't need them."

After also descending the stairs, Anderson said, "I'm sorry, Commander. I wish I had known what their stance was on all this before the meeting, so I could have prepared you."

"Don't worry about it, Anderson. We've come this far without them," Shepard responded. "But I'm glad you're on the Council, at least."

"Yeah, for all the good it's done you so far," Anderson said sarcastically. "An individual councilor doesn't have much authority with these matters; decisions need to be made by the group as a whole. I can't help you much, but I'll try and keep them off your back. You're still technically a Spectre, so you're subject to their orders, but I'll make sure they don't give you any assignments to distract you from your true mission."

"A Spectre…'" Shepard said in a scoffing voice. "I can't remember the last time being a Spectre has helped me any. All it ever seems good for these days is the occasional store discount and intimidating people."

"Your status might come in handy now that you aren't restricted to the Terminus systems anymore," Anderson said. "Tell me, what are your plans? How do you plan to stop the Reapers? What allies do you think you can gather?"

"Unfortunately, right now, I have no idea what the Reapers are planning. As far as I know, all their servants have been wiped out. How they intend to return from dark space is a mystery to me. That was one of the reasons I had wanted to be backed by the Council; they have countless resources and a substantial intelligence network. They would have been able to monitor for anything unusual that could give us a clue as to what the Reapers are planning."

"That's true, Shepard," Garrus said, "but don't forget; we have access to everything the Shadow Broker knows. That can help us."

Anderson looked at Shepard with a look of sudden confusion, "You know the Shadow Broker?"

"We accomplished a lot the last few months, during our mission to stop the Collectors," Shepard explained. "Among our travels, we became friends with the Shadow Broker. Or I should say… the Shadow Broker became our friend."

Anderson took the hint from Shepard's intentionally vague comment. He said, "Well, if you truly know the Shadow Broker—and can trust him—then that right there can be a powerful ally. But Commander, you can't battle something like the Reapers with just information. If the Reapers attack, the Council will be too slow to react. We'll need everything we can muster to have any chance to stop them. We all saw what a single one did to all of the Citadel's fleets."

"You're right, Anderson, we'll need firepower to stop them," Shepard said. "We'll need fleets; entire armies. Fortunately, I have quite a few potential allies. The quarians and the geth, for example. The two of them are actually aware of the existence of the Reapers, and they probably have the greatest number of ships in the galaxy."

Tali, who had already been paying attention to the conversation, suddenly became even more attentive to Shepard's words.

"The quarians? The _geth_?" Anderson said, with a far greater look of confusion than when he heard of their connection with the Shadow Broker. "I'm sorry, Commander, but I don't see how they can be of help. The quarians don't have a world; they would be reluctant in throwing their ships—effectively their homes—at the Reapers. And the geth… aren't the geth and the Reapers on the same side?"

"Not exactly," Shepard began to explain. "During my mission I learned that the geth were actually divided into two separate factions. One that worshipped the Reapers, and one that opposes them. The ones that were allied with the Reapers—heretics, they were called—were the ones who attacked the Citadel. As far as I know, however, they've all effectively been neutralized. Some of them may still exist, but their numbers should be too low to be of any significant threat.

"As for the quarians, you're right in that their ships are also their homes, and that they're not currently in a position to help combat the Reapers. But that's why I want to try and negotiate peace between them and the geth. If they can get their planet back, they'll have a true home, and a place to shelter their non-combatants; loss of many of their ships won't be nearly as catastrophic for them.

"But even beyond just the quarians and the geth, I have other potential allies. You remember Wrex? He's unifying the krogan clans on Tuchanka, and he knows just as well as I do how big of a threat the Reapers are. And then there are the rachni. I haven't had much contact with the rachni queen I spared back on Noveria, but I believe she and her children will join our cause."

Anderson shook his head slightly, almost looking amused. He said, "Quarians and geth? Krogan and rachni? You mean to tell me you intend to unite and unify these races that have historically hated each other; that have killed billions of each other in war?"

"History is full of examples of former enemies uniting against a common foe. These races—these people, that the galaxy has turned their backs on; that are hated, despised, and misunderstood by everyone… in the end, it will be _they_ who stand up and defend us. They will be the ones that save the very galaxy that rejected them. They are our only hope."

Anderson looked at Shepard with a face now full of pride. He placed his hand on Shepard's shoulder, and said, "True enough, Commander. It's crazy, but if anyone can pull this off, it's you. Godspeed."

"Thank you, Anderson," Shepard responded. "My crew has shore leave while the ship is being repaired—they earned a break—but it won't be long before we're back out there, and we find a way to stop the Reapers, permanently."


	28. I Deserve Better Than This

_**I Deserve Better Than This**_

A bead of sweat ran down Shepard's forehead, getting absorbed into his eyebrow. He instinctively wiped it with the back of his hand, but consciously kept the metal brush he held pointing away from his face. The interruption gave him an excuse to pause his work for a moment. He stepped back and looked at the partially removed, crystal-shaped Cerberus insignia to the left of the elevator in the CIC. There were rags on the floor with small curdles of white paint scattered on them; the same kind that were entangled on the metal bristles of the brush he held. The insignia on the opposite side of the elevator had already been removed. He inhaled and quietly sighed as he leaned back in to continue his work. The strong, nauseating smell of paint stripper irritated his nostrils.

Shortly after he continued, the elevator door opened and he heard a voice call out from behind him.

"I figured I'd catch you up here." It was Jack.

Shepard turned around and saw to a somewhat pleasant surprise that she was wearing the navy-colored shirt of the new uniforms that had been purchased one week ago. She had rolled up the sleeves all the way to the top, letting her tattooed arms be fully exposed. The new uniforms were somewhat plain and generic, but Shepard liked them because of their dark navy color; they reminded him of the Alliance uniforms worn on the original Normandy.

"Jack," Shepard said pleasantly, "is there something you need?"

Jack eyed the Cerberus insignia Shepard was removing as she approached. "Finally," she said, "you're getting rid of these fucking eyesores."

"This is the last one left on the ship. The ones on the outside of the ship were removed by ship-body team yesterday, too," Shepard commented, then returned to the subject of why she wanted to talk to him. "Why were you looking for me?"

Jack hesitated briefly and said, "I heard that we're finally leaving the Citadel in a couple days."

"That's right," Shepard confirmed. "We're leaving shortly after our ship supplies are delivered. You know, this is the first time I've ever had to pay for ship supplies—the Alliance, and then Cerberus, always took care of that—and I tell you, it's not cheap. I'm suddenly thinking I may follow your suggestion and take to piracy," he said in a joking manner.

"Yeah right," Jack said in a scoffing, yet noticeably amused voice, "I know you're too much of a boy scout for that." The amused look she had disappeared as she changed topic, back to why she wanted to speak to him; she wanted to get it over with. "Anyway, look, I've been doing some thinking—do you want me here on this ship?"

Shepard's forehead suddenly tensed up, as he looked at her, confused. "What do you mean? Do you want to leave?"

"No, that's not it. I'm just… look, I like it here. People treat me alright. I don't feel like I need to worry about getting stabbed in the back. All these Cerberus people here have stuck with you even after you fucked with their leader. Even the cheerleader doesn't seem so irritating these days; not since we took out the Collectors. I want to stay, but I know I don't exactly fit in. So if want me to leave, I want to hear it now before we set out. I don't want to get comfortable here for nothing."

Shepard momentarily thought about how to respond. He chuckled and said, "Don't fit in? What are you talking about—have you _seen_ our crew? We've got a berserk, tank-bred krogan, a spiritual drell assassin, an ex C-sec turian vigilante, an exiled quarian princess, a pilot with Vrolik syndrome; all being led by a zombie cyborg commander. Jack, there's nowhere else you fit in better."

Jack responded with only a small smirk, which was rare from her. Shepard continued, "The choice is always yours to leave, but I want for you to stay. Aside from that one incident with Miranda, there haven't been any issues with you and the crew. Not to mention your biotic abilities saved lives on the Collector Base; those abilities are essential, they make you an important asset to our team."

"Alright! Damn," Jack abruptly said, "I'll stay, I just wanted to make sure it was cool with you. No need to get all sappy on me. Save that shit for Tali. I don't know how you do it, but even after all we've been through and all the crazy shit you've seen, you still manage to sound like a pussy."

Shepard just shook his head, clearly amused; it was obvious to him that she really did appreciate his words. She was just keeping up her tough-girl appearance, and wanted to move away from the subject, which clearly embarrassed her.

"Anyway, thanks for hearing me out," Jack continued. After a brief pause, she said, "Hey, let me finish that for you." Jack nodded toward the Cerberus insignia.

"You want to remove it?"

"Yeah. Nothing would make me happier than scraping off the last of these damned Cerberus eyesores from the ship," she answered, and reached for the metal brush Shepard held.

Shepard handed it to her and said, "Alright, take it. Sometimes the paint doesn't want to come off easily, so please don't get frustrated and blow a hole in the ship. I'll see you later—I'm going to go try and get the smell of paint stripper off me."

With that, Shepard left Jack and entered the elevator, intent on going up to his cabin to shower. He was sweaty from the work of removing all the Cerberus insignias from the interior of the ship, and the irritating smell of paint stripper still lingered in his nose. As Shepard rode the elevator up, the conversation with Jack was fresh on his mind. He was glad that she wanted to stay on the Normandy, especially since in the nearly two weeks that had passed while docked on the Citadel, some of the crew had left. About half a dozen of the Cerberus crew members were gone, all with separate reasons. Samara left too; with the mission to stop the Collectors accomplished, and with no direct, immediate goal now, her code compelled her to leave and continue her work as a Justicar. However, she left on good terms, and made it clear to Shepard that she would gladly rejoin the Normandy crew if her assistance was needed. Thane had contemplated leaving as well, in hopes of spending the time he had left with his son. But he ultimately decided it would be best to stay with Shepard; the universe was still a dark place, and he could do more to make it brighter by staying among the Normandy's crew.

Shepard stepped out of the elevator and waited the brief period for the decontamination cycle to complete before entering his cabin. As he entered the room, he heard the distinct, quiet background hiss of the shower running; Tali was in the bathroom, taking a shower.

Since bacteria multiplication on skin is often the only real cause of bodily odor, quarians could go long periods of time without needing to wash, thanks to their suits' ability to maintain an enclosed, sterile environment. However, despite their suits' capabilities at preventing bacterial growth, as well as their basic cleansing systems, quarians still needed to bathe from time to time, so as to remove dead skin cells and oil and sweat residue from their skin.

Shepard grinned upon hearing the sound of the shower. There was something he had been wanting to do for a long time, and he decided now was the time. The boring, irritating work he had spent the last few hours on had left him feeling somewhat fatigued, as well as with a light headache from the fumes of the paint stripper, and he knew exactly how he wanted to unwind now. He quickly pulled off his boots and all his clothes, letting the individual articles fall anywhere on the floor. He eagerly approached the bathroom door, all the time dreading to hear the sound of the shower come to an abrupt end.

The door opened, revealing the hot, humid, steam-filled bathroom. And the beautiful, naked quarian bathing at the curtain-less shower.

"Shepard!" Tali immediately shouted in surprise, instinctively trying to cover her breasts and private region with her hands, despite the fact that Shepard had seen her naked several times before. "I'm almost done! Keelah, couldn't you wait a few minutes?" Tali relaxed after the initial surprise, but still kept herself covered.

Shepard just smiled slyly and approached her.

"Shepard, what are you—" Tali began to say, but was interrupted as Shepard stepped into the shower stream and kissed her. It took less than a second into the kiss for Tali to fully loosen up and let her arms separate from her body, and embrace Shepard. It became instantly clear to her why Shepard had come into the shower with her.

The kiss ended slowly, and Tali looked into Shepard's eyes; her own eyes were now very relaxed, as she looked at him lovingly. "Why do I get the feeling you're not in here for just a shower?" she said coyly, and bit her lower lip in excitement.

"Because, I'm not…" Shepard responded in a whisper, as he held her closely. The hot water from the shower continued to spray on them, and flow down their bodies.

Tali giggled, sounding slightly embarrassed. "The idea seems so strange to me," she said. "You know, doing… _that_, in here. On the flotilla, the bathing rooms are so utterly private, and it never occurred to me that—"

Shepard interrupted her cute, upcoming banter about the flotilla by kissing her again. This time much more passionately.

It didn't take long into the kiss for Shepard to reach down with both hands, grab her rear, and suddenly lift her up, holding her up against the wall. She moaned and arched her back upon feeling the stinging cold wall against her skin, but immediately wrapped her legs around him and continued kissing him intensely and passionately, as the intimacy of the moment rapidly escaladed.

. . .

Shepard and Tali lay together on the sofa in their cabin, quietly holding each other. Their bodies mostly dry, but still slightly wet from their shower, which had ended only a short time ago. Shepard wore some new, clean pants, and Tali had on a shirt. It was the shirt Shepard had intended to put on, but she had taken it from him and put it on. On her, it was loose, baggy, and large enough to cover her torso and upper thighs completely.

"You know what I just noticed?" Shepard asked, "I haven't seen you get very sick in a while. It seems you're finally getting used to me."

"That's right," Tali responded. "That's why lately I haven't been too worried about being out of my suit for long periods of time, in here."

Shepard looked at her and smiled. "It must be great for you, finally not having to wear that thing all the time."

"Well… yes and no," Tali said. "It's wonderful being out of it. All the little things I get to feel, like the cool air brushing against my skin from even the smallest movements, and how soft the fabrics of your shirt and the bed sheets feel. But it's also a little scary being out of the suit; it's not something easy to get used to. I've spent so much of my life worrying about suit punctures and the dangers of open air. Even though I know our cabin is safe, I still find myself feeling a little uneasy at times. It's hard to explain."

"No, I can understand, Tali," Shepard said. "It doesn't surprise me at all that you're a little conditioned to feeling safe with the suit on."

Tali cuddled in closer against Shepard and quietly said, "I also feel safe when we're like this, close to each other and in each other's arms." She then softly laughed, and continued, "I know you can't exactly protect me from bacteria, but I still feel safe like this."

Shepard gave her a light squeeze and said, "I'm glad." After a brief, quiet pause, he asked, "How do older quarians handle being out of their suits for long? You've been in one for what, twelve years, right? But what about the elderly quarians?"

"It's interesting you mention that," Tali said. "Some time after we started to wear them about two hundred and fifty years ago, a well known psychiatrist of my people—I forget his name—recognized that many of us go through a series of four separate stages throughout our lives, in regards to our suits. When we're young and first receive our suits, we love them; that's the first stage. We feel so free and mature and invincible when we get them; we feel like we can take on anything. It's much like when youths of other races are first permitted to operate cars and shuttles for the first time.

"The second stage comes around the time we return from our pilgrimage. We start to despise our suits and hate how we're imprisoned in them. We feel so frustrated. I suppose after seeing how the rest of the galaxy lives, we realize that our suits don't represent freedom. Instead they're like prisons, like… like the leashes I've seen humans and asari put on their pets when out in public. The suits may give us a taste of freedom, but ultimately we're trapped, and it really hits us how much, after our pilgrimage.

"That stage can last anywhere from weeks to many years. It's different for all of us—some quarians don't even experience these stages, but many do."

"What about you?" Shepard asked.

"So far, I have. I felt so happy and excited when I first got my suit, up until I left on my pilgrimage; just like in the first stage. And just like in the second stage, after my pilgrimage was over I found myself often feeling very frustrated over having to wear it, and our plight in general. It didn't help that my pilgrimage ended at the same time as when you —" Tali stopped herself, "When you... well, you know…"

Shepard sighed quietly and automatically gave Tali a light squeeze with his arm. He utterly hated thinking about what she must have gone through when he died aboard the first Normandy; he didn't want to think about it. "What about the other two stages?" he asked, going back to topic.

"Well, the third one is acceptance. We come to realize that the suits are just part of our lives; part of our bodies. We realize we'll always be in them, and there's no sense in being upset over it. We should just accept it, and be happy that they exist and allow us _some_ freedom. We also start to really recognize that the suits grant certain advantages. Their internal life-support systems mean that hull breaches aren't immediately deadly. There's also the extra durability they provide us. They're very hard to puncture without using mass accelerator weapons; you try and attack a quarian with a knife for example, and it's very unlikely the knife will pierce the suit. Unless maybe you're a krogan, I suppose."

Tali looked right at Shepard and smiled as she gave him a soft kiss on his lips, "Although, maybe a certain cybernetically enhanced human might have that kind of strength, too."

Shepard laughed and said, "I sure have no intention on finding out. I know of far more fun ways to bypass a quarian's suit…"

Tali giggled and kissed him again. Shepard then asked, "What about the fourth stage?"

"The fourth stage deals with what you asked, about older quarians. It's dependence. After a whole lifetime of wearing the suits and dreading the consequences of open air, we become emotionally dependent on them. The thought of being out of them is utterly terrifying; like a prisoner being released from jail after becoming institutionalized." Tali paused for a few seconds, suddenly contemplating something. "I wonder… I wonder if that's why it's taken so long for us to find a new home. The flotilla has virtually always been led by the older, more experienced of my people—the ones most likely to be in that final stage of dependence; the ones most likely to be afraid of actually finding a home, where the suits would one day not be needed."

"Well, the leaders of your people better get used to the idea soon," Shepard said in an upbeat voice, "because to stop the Reapers, we're going to need both the quarians and the geth. And that means heading to geth space, and finding a way to resolve this issue with the them."

Shepard's words instantly shattered the solemn mood Tali had slipped into while talking about her people's plight. Now smiling again, she said, "I'm looking forward to it so much. You have no idea."

"Well, considering how much you've talked about your homeworld and your people since I met you, I think I have _some_ idea," Shepard said.

Tali laughed and said, "Why do you always like to tease me about that? At least I talk about my people and where I came from. Even after all our time together, I still know hardly anything about your life before you joined the Alliance."

"There's really not much to tell about my early life, Tali. And most of what there is to tell isn't very good. I'm just glad it's in the past now; it exists only in memory."

"I would still love to visit Earth one day. I remember after we talked with the Councilors, you talked so unfavorably about it. Do you really hate your homeworld so much?"

"Well… Earth is a big place, with billions of people and vastly different cultures and regions. I only ever tasted a small part of it. But I still have no desire to ever go back. And I know you're curious about it, but it would be best if we stayed away. Humans have only known that other life exists in the galaxy for a few decades now, and many people there have never even seen other races in person. I don't think many would react very well."

"I suppose that's true. Still…" Tali sighed.

"Anyway, enough about Earth," Shepard said, changing the subject. "Are you going to give me my shirt back?"

Tali laughed and said, "Nope, I like wearing it."

"You know I _can_ get you some of the new women's uniforms if you need something to wear when out of your suit."

"Well…" Tali said, hesitating before continuing; she suddenly seemed somewhat embarrassed. "I actually... you were right, when you said earlier I haven't gotten very sick in a while. I had noticed it too, like I said. So I recently, um… I actually bought some garments to wear, on the Citadel, earlier today…"

"Really?" Shepard said excitedly. "Show me what you bought, I want to see."

"I'm just a little embarrassed by it, I suppose. Buying clothes is such a major part of your peoples' culture, and it's something I've never done. I went to a human clothing shop, and there were _so_ many choices… Keelah, it's incredible. All those different styles, patterns, and fabrics, and I have no idea what they're appropriate for. I just picked out a couple things I thought looked nice."

"Come on Tali, the suspense is killing me, show me what you bought," Shepard said, sitting up at the edge of the sofa, eagerly anticipating Tali to get up.

"I didn't buy very many things," Tali said as she got up off the sofa and walked toward her locker on the opposite side of the room. "It's not like I'll be wearing this stuff very often."

After digging through her locker, she pulled out the first item. A blue plaid shirt, with some red accents.

"Plaid? You bought a _plaid_ style shirt?" Shepard said while attempting to hold back his laughter, but utterly failing to do so.

"What's wrong with it?" Tali said, sounding defensive. "I like it! All the lines and squares… they remind me of machine circuitry. I think it's very neat."

"It's just… it's such an _old_ style; one that refuses to go away. I'm surprised they even sell it here on the Citadel."

"Well,_ I_ like it," Tali said, putting it back in her locker, "and if you're going to be like that, I'm not going to show you anything else."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, Tali. If you like it, that's all that matters," Shepard apologetically said. Tali looked unmoved, and after a brief pause, Shepard added, "…and besides, you'll look beautiful no matter what you wear."

Tali smiled ever so slightly. "I'll drop it, for now…" she muttered in response.

"Thank you. Now come on, what else did you buy?"

Tali turned back to the locker. "I bought some other upper body garments, ones that aren't _plaid_," Tali said, putting a pretend, mocking emphasis on the word 'plaid,' "…but I also bought some lower body garments, too. I didn't buy the kind that wraps around each individual leg, like the one you're wearing now, since human legs are a little different and I thought they might not fight right."

"You mean pants?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, those," Tali responded as she turned around from the locker. "Instead I got this. The woman at the store called it a skeert? Skart?" Tali held a medium length, flowing skirt. It was black, but with a repeating pattern of dark indigo flowers. It looked like it would reach just above her knees if she wore it.

"Skirt…" Shepard corrected, looking at her and smiling. "It's very pretty. I can't wait to see you in it."

Tali just shyly smiled in response and placed it back into the locker. "I bought a couple more things too—"

Suddenly, over the intercom, was heard Joker's voice. "Commander! Commander, are you there?"

Shepard sighed and got up. "What now…" he grumbled quietly as he walked toward his desk, so as to respond via the communicator on it. Tali just looked at him, amused at the humor of the sudden interruption.

"Damn it, Commander, this is urgent!" Joker said over the intercom just as Shepard reached it.

"I'm here, Joker," Shepard said, "What's the matter?"

"We're locked down—the ship's locked down! EDI just detected the docking bay's magnetic couplers went into a permanent lockdown mode, one we can't override. And get this, our communications are completely blocked. We can't send or receive any data outside the ship! What the hell is going on, Commander?"

"Shit. I have no idea, but I'm going to find out," Shepard said. "Alert the ship. I want everyone ready. This can mean any number of things."

"Aye aye."

Shepard turned away from his desk to face Tali. As soon as he did, she handed him his shirt. "Here," she said. "Go find out what's going on. I'm going to put on my suit."

"Alright, love," Shepard said he slipped on his shirt. He then grabbed his boots and walked out the door. Before it closed, he gave Tali a small smile and said, "We'll continue the fashion show later." The door closed.

Shepard turned and threw his hand against the holographic display of the elevator, and proceeded to place one boot while waiting for it to arrive, and the other while descending down to the CIC.

As he briskly walked down the CIC toward the front of the ship, he could hear Joker on the ship's overhead announcement system.

"_Attention crew, the Normandy has been locked down and our communications are being externally blocked. Commander Shepard wants everyone at their stations and ready for anything. I repeat, our ship has been locked down and our communications are blocked, everybody get ready."_

Shepard reached the bridge of the Normandy. "What's going on Joker?"

"No idea Commander," Joker responded as he swiveled his chair around to face Shepard. "What I told you is all I know. We're completely locked down. This seems _awfully_ familiar, don't you think?"

"I certainly hope this has nothing to do with the Council… there's no reason for them to do this," Shepard said, and then turned to EDI's holographic projection. "EDI, what can you tell us? Would it be possible to override the lockdown in case this _isn't_ some kind of mistake?"

"I'm afraid not, Shepard," EDI responded in her typical calm, synthesized voice. "The lockdown protocols used on Citadel docking bays are designed so that they can only be overridden manually from within the Citadel. Also, all my external communications are blocked by a signal jammer built into the docking bay. It is a standard security device on all Citadel docking bays, that broadcasts a short range jamming signal in all usable electromagnetic frequencies. There is nothing I can do."

"Damn it," Shepard growled just above a whisper, instinctively balling his hand into a fist.

"Shepard," EDI said, "there are C-Sec personnel gathering just outside the airlock. They are attempting to hail us through the external communicator."

"Oh shit," Joker said as he switched the primary bridge display to show an external airlock view. It revealed a group of a dozen C-Sec officers, each one clad in combat armor and fully armed.

Shepard stared at the sight of the armed C-Sec officers for a few, long seconds. He then said in a quiet voice, as if it were somehow possible for the officers outside to hear him, "This doesn't look good. EDI, are you sure it's impossible for the Normandy to take off right now? There's no way at all?"

"No Shepard," EDI responded. "The only way would be to attempt to launch while still docked. However, based on the strength of the magnetic couplers, it is extremely likely that doing so will result in significant damage to the ship, including complete loss of the portside propulsion systems and an extensive hull breach."

Shepard sighed, "We don't have a choice then. I'm going to go see what they want."

"I don't like this, Commander," Joker said.

"I don't either," Shepard stated as he walked toward the interior airlock door. Joker got up and followed in his typical, limping step.

The exterior airlock door opened, and Shepard stepped outside. In front of him were the various C-Sec officers. In the mere seconds that passed before words were exchanged, Shepard noticed that none of them were humans; nearly all were turians, with two salarians and an asari. Even though turians still made up the majority of C-Sec forces, it was strange to see a group of C-sec that was purely non-human. But they were all clearly C-Sec, identified by the holographic badges on their chests, and all equipped with standard issue C-Sec heavy combat armor and assault rifles.

"Greetings, officers," Shepard said cautiously, keeping his eyes focused and unblinking on them. "How can I help you?"

Despite the fact of how heavily armed the officers were, there was a noticeable sense of hesitation and concern among them. After a brief moment, their commanding officer—a turian—stepped forward and asked, "Are you Spectre John Shepard, formerly of Alliance Command?"

"That's me," Shepard answered. "What's all this about?"

After another brief hesitation, the lead officer said, "I'm under Council orders to place you under arrest."

"What?" Shepard said in disbelief. "Under what charges?"

"Section 2190 of Chapter 149 Council law: conspiracy to commit treason."

"_Conspiracy to commit treason_?" Shepard exclaimed loudly, "What are you talking about?"

"This has to be some kind of mistake," Shepard heard from behind him. It was Garrus. He turned his head and saw that behind him now was not only Joker, but Garrus, Miranda, Jacob, and Jack. He could also see Grunt coming down the airlock.

"No mistake, I'm afraid," the turian said with a sigh. It was clear he wasn't happy about having to arrest Commander Shepard, the hero of the Battle of the Citadel. "We have our orders directly from the Council. Please, we need you to come with us."

Shepard didn't move, he just stared at the C-Sec officer. The officer stood uneasy, hesitating, unsure of how to handle Shepard's lack of cooperation. "We _are_ authorized to use… force, if necessary," he said.

"Try it!" Grunt's loud, powerful voice roared from behind Shepard. He aggressively punched his palm in conjunction with his words.

"Just say the word," Jack also said, pulsing with biotic energy, "and I'll send all these idiots flying!"

The C-Sec officers all immediately raised their weapons. The asari officer also pulsed with biotic energy, as she got into a defensive pose. The two groups remained perfectly still, staring at each other.

Shepard raised his hand, signaling his team to stand down. "All of you, stand down. These officers are just following orders, and we don't need to make this any worse." Both groups relaxed slightly from Shepard's words.

Shepard then turned around to address his team directly, "I don't know what's going on, but I do know I'm innocent of their charges. I'm going to cooperate and go with them; I'll get this sorted out."

"Are you sure that's wise, Commander?" Miranda asked.

"No," Shepard bluntly answered, "but we don't exactly have many options right now. I want all of you to cooperate with C-Sec in any way they ask. Try and contact Councilor Anderson; find out what's going on. If anyone can help us, it's him."

"David Anderson is no longer with the Council," the turian officer said.

Shepard suddenly turned back around and looked at him with an expression of disbelief, "What do you mean he's not with the Council? What the _hell_ is going on?"

"I don't have any details. I've only been instructed to arrest you, and take you to the courthouse at our C-Sec precinct on the Presidium for your immediate arraignment before the Council. They will be able to answer your questions then and there. Now please, come with us," the turian said.

Shepard turned around and looked at his crew for the last time. He wished he could say goodbye to Tali, but she wasn't there. It was no mystery why; when he last saw her in the cabin, she was without her suit, and putting on a full enviro-suit was not as quick or easy as simply putting on some clothes. He sighed quietly, and gave them a small, surprisingly confident smile. "Don't worry guys, I'll get this sorted out. I'll see you all soon. Take care of yourselves until I return. And remember to stick together no matter what; there's nothing you guys can't accomplish if you work together."

The art of fake optimism was one that Shepard, as a leader, had mastered long ago.

With that, Shepard turned around and approached the C-Sec officers with his hands behind his head; a pose he was regrettably familiar with, from his youth. The lead officer turned Shepard around, lowered his arms behind his back, and bound them together.

Shepard was lead to the nearby armored prisoner transport shuttle. After entering its custody compartment, and just before the security door closed, he heard what he both most wanted to hear, and what he most wished he wouldn't hear: Tali's voice.

"Shepard!" she yelled out as she broke through the group of Normandy crewmembers outside the airlock, and ran toward the shuttle.

Shepard only got a momentary glance at her before the door closed, but that glance was enough to burn the tragic image of her desperately running toward him, into his mind.

. . .

Shepard found himself being escorted through the C-Sec precinct on the Presidium that the turian officer had mentioned. He had never been to this C-Sec station in particular, but it was more or less the same as all the others, with various officers going about their business. Near the entrance he noticed a security gate similar to the one he had seen on Citadel Tower nearly two weeks ago, when he had his meeting with the Councilors. As an arrestee, he had entered through a side entrance, but he imagined any and all visitors would need to be checked at the gate before being allowed inside.

As he walked through the C-Sec station, he noticed the various officers—mostly turians, which was no surprise given the station's location within the Presidium—staring at him, all with looks of surprise and disbelief. There were quiet gasps and murmurs among them; the sight of the famous hero of the Citadel under arrest was as bizarre to them as it was to Shepard himself. Noticing the almost complete lack of humans within this C-Sec precinct, as well as the fact that the group who had arrested him was also made up exclusively of non-humans. He wondered if the Council had deliberately avoided sending human officers to arrest him out of concern that they would be hesitant to arrest the most famous man of their own race. It made sense, considering even the turian officers were hesitant and noticeably regretful over their orders.

Finally, after relatively short walk, Shepard reached his immediate destination, a modest courtroom on the third level. It was mostly empty, with just some guards at the door, but there was a lone figure near the defendant's place at the front, as if waiting for him. A turian, whose face paint and uniform Shepard recognized: it was Executor Venari Pallin, head of Citadel Security. Shepard didn't know whether he should be happy or worried to see him there.

Once he reached the front, next to where Pallin stood, Shepard's handcuffs were momentarily removed, so that he could move his hands to the front of his body, where his hands were once again bound.

"Have a seat," Executor Pallin said, gesturing to the small table before the judges' platform. On the platform were offline holographic emitters; clearly meant for the Council. It was no surprise that they would not appear there in person.

"Executive Pallin, it's been a long time," Shepard said as he sat down. "Can you tell me what's going on? This is all very unusual—why have I been brought to my arraignment immediately? Why are there no witnesses here? And where is my defense advocate?"

"Regrettably, you are right, Commander Shepard," the Executor replied. Being addressed formally by him made Shepard feel slightly more at ease. "This isn't standard procedure, and I don't like it. Laws and regulation exist for a reason: to be followed. Normally you'd be taken into custody, and given some time to prepare with your defense advocate before your arraignment, where the exact charges are presented to you and you're given the choice to plead innocent or guilty before the judge. If you plead innocent, the case is then taken to trial at a later point—"

"Yes, I know" Shepard interrupted. "I know how these legal cases normally work on the Citadel; they're similar to Earth. But why am I being treated differently? What's going on?"

"Much like you Spectres are allowed by the Council to operate above the law on your missions," Pallin said with a voice of slight contempt; Shepard remembered he had little love for the Spectres, "The Council is allowed to operate above standard procedure when they preside over capital offences like treason. The Council itself will preside over this arraignment, and the later trial, should you plead innocent."

"You're damn right I'm going to plead innocent," Shepard snapped. "I haven't done _anything_! Will I be allowed a defense advocate at the trial at least, or is the Council just going to strip me of every one of my rights, and this whole court ordeal is just for show?"

"Believe me, Commander, whether or not you're actually guilty, it sickens me to tell you that it _is_ within the Council's power to deny you an advocate for your trial," Pallin replied. "However, it's very unlikely that they'll resort to that. It has never happened in Citadel history, and stripping such a basic right from a defendant such as yourself would result in severe public unrest, maybe even rioting. It's safe to say that you will be allowed an advocate at your trial. You just won't have one here for your arraignment. I suspect one of the reasons for that is that they want this to be over—and for you to be in custody—as quickly and quietly as possible."

Shepard sighed and shook his head. "When's this arraignment supposed to start?"

"Soon," Pallin replied. "That is all I know. I must be on my way; I have no business with this trial. I was only here under orders by the Council to bring you up to speed as to the irregularities of this procedure."

Pallin turned and began to walk away. His footsteps were quiet, but in the otherwise completely silent room, they resonated and were clearly heard.

"Executor," Shepard called out as Pallin walked away.

Pallin stopped, but didn't turn around. "Yes?"

"Are you on my side on this?"

Pallin turn around and said, "I am on the side of law and order, Commander." After brief pause, he added, "However, it's hard to imagine that you of all people can actually be guilty of these charges. Good luck."

With those words, Pallin continued on his way. Once the sounds of his footsteps were gone, an unnerving silence fell upon the courtroom, as Shepard waited for those who were both his accusers and his judges, to appear.

Shepard lost track of the time as he sat in that deep, penetrating quiet. His mind was busy running over all the possible reasons for him being there, in that defendant's chair, accused of conspiracy to commit treason. Countless possibilities came to mind, but none made sense.

_Could it be my past association with Cerberus? They even once said working with them was technically treason. But that doesn't make any sense; I broke contact with them. They know I did; they would have arrested me already if my work with Cerberus was an issue._

_Maybe it's EDI? She is illegal after all. But that wouldn't fall under treason law—how would they even know about her, anyway? It could be Legion, but that also wouldn't fall under any treason law. Hell, for all they know, Legion could just a regular mech in a Geth chassis. _

_I do know who the Shadow Broker is, that could possibly be reason for them—no, no… that makes no sense at all._

_It has to do with Cerberus. They must think I'm still working for them. That's the only thing that makes sense. I hope that's the case, because it'll be damn easy to prove that I'm not—_

The quiet of the courtroom shattered as a soft, hissing static noise came from the holographic emitters up front. They initiated, and almost immediately the holographic projection of the councilors materialized before Shepard. It was just the asari, the turian, and the salarian. Anderson was nowhere to be seen; the arresting turian had been right, as Shepard feared.

Shepard wasted no time. "What is going on, Councilors? Why have I been arrested? What happened to Anderson?"

There was only a brief pause before a response. As typical, the asari spoke as the unofficial leader of the group. "You have been arrested under conspiracy to commit treason. David Anderson was wholly against our decision to detain you. When we decided to proceed despite his objections, he rashly decided to resign from his position as councilor. However, he has been temporarily detained due to the risk he posed in warning you of our intentions."

The salarian then spoke, "He did break Citadel law and allow the Normandy to escape during the Saren incident, after all. His actions ended up being justified, but his history made it evident he is more than capable of doing it again, and there was no doubt among us that he would. However, since he technically hasn't done anything wrong, we are going to release him once this arraignment is concluded."

"You _bastards_," Shepard growled. "That's how the Council does things? You turn against each other if you disagree? What kind of a government are you running here?"

"Anderson was very upset at our decision," the asari calmly explained. "He resigned, claiming he wanted nothing to do with this. He also stated that he intended on helping you in any way possible. As stated, given his history, we had to take that as a threat. We had to detain him to assure he wouldn't interfere."

"We did him a favor," the turian said. "We kept him from getting himself in trouble. Last time he physically assaulted an official Citadel ambassador. What was to stop him from doing something worse now?"

_Assholes. They wanted this—they never liked having Anderson on the Council. He was never a two-faced, lying politician like they are._

"Just tell me why I'm here," Shepard curtly said.

The asari answered, "John Shepard, you are here under accusation by the Citadel Council for conspiracy to commit treason. How do you plead?"

"I've been told that already and I'm tired of hearing it—I want to know WHY I'm being charged with that!" Shepard snapped in response.

"We'll get to that," the asari stated. "Now please follow procedure, or you will be held in contempt of court. How do you plead?"

_Follow procedure? You hypocritical bastards—if we're following procedure, then where the hell is my defense advocate?_ "Not guilty!"

After a brief interval, the asari once again spoke up. "As for the reason for your charges; Commander, do you recall our last meeting, when I briefly brought up the principle of Occam's Razor with you?"

"Yeah. I remember."

"In a way, that is why you are here. Because we, the Council, have become aware of the simplest explanation for something that once confused us, and never made sense to us."

Shepard wanted to yell for her to just get to the point, but he stayed calm, and listened to her speak.

She continued, "At the very start of your mission to stop Saren, we heard of the Reapers for the first time. It quickly became obvious to us that the Reapers were fictional; that they were a lie created by Saren to manipulate the geth. What better way to deceive and control a race of sentient machines, than convince them that he was a servant of another, more advanced race of sentient machines? Unfortunately, you too got caught up in his lie. Or so we believed, until now."

Shepard was unable to keep himself from rolling his eyes. The asari continued speaking, either ignoring the gesture, or simply not being familiar with its meaning.

"For a long time, we were very confused at how you could fall for such an unrealistic and impossible story. You are a bright individual, Commander Shepard, and it never made sense to us how someone of your status could so easily be fooled by Saren's lie. We were particularly shocked at our last meeting, when you argued that Sovereign was not a Collector creation.

"With the findings from your last mission, you may have proved us wrong that Sovereign was not of geth origin as we once believed, but at the same time, you also provided solid evidence that the machines you refer to as Reapers are merely super dreadnaughts created by the enigmatic Collectors, and _not_ what you believed them to be. That is what was so surprising about you stating that you still believed the Reapers to be real; you yourself presented us the evidence that proved they are not. It just didn't make any sense that you could still genuinely believe in them."

Shepard's face was tense as he stared at the asari; his eyes unblinking as he listened to her speak. He then said, "Get to the point. What exactly are you saying?"

"What we're saying, is that the true explanation for your insistence on perpetuating the Reaper myth is also the simplest: you have never actually believed Saren's lie. You don't actually believe in the Reapers, and never have. You have only pretended to. You've known all along it was a deception created by Saren."

Shepard's only response was a sudden look of confusion.

The turian elaborated. "You saw how close Saren came to conquering the Citadel. With that simple myth about the Reapers, he was able to recruit an entire fleet of geth to assist him in attacking the Citadel, and almost emerged victoriously. It is now obvious to us, that after witnessing just how close Saren came to success, and having intimate knowledge of how he got so close, you decided to follow in his footsteps."

"_What_?" Shepard yelled, suddenly jumping up from his seat. The chair behind him fell back. "You think I'm trying to be like Saren? That I'm trying to repeat his actions? _Are you out of your minds_?"

"There is an overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence that supports our claim, Commander," the salarian said. "For example. When last we spoke on Citadel Tower, you had passed through a security gate. The log from that gate showed a number of very unusual cybernetics had been detected throughout your body. Most of them are not standard medical implants_—_we're not quite sure what they are, nor have our scientific advisors been able to determine their origin. Saren was also known to have unrecognizable, foreign cybernetic implants in his body; presumably to facilitate communication with the geth."

Shepard immediately said in response, "These implants have nothing to do with the geth! They were used to bring me back to life after the Normandy attack two years ago!"

"That's another thing that never made sense," the turian this time said. "In the collective medical history of all known races, there has never been a documented case of a dead person being brought back to life after two years. It's simply impossible."

"I'm telling the truth," Shepard said. "Cerberus poured billions of credits into bringing me back. They even used Reaper nanotechnology to restore the damaged tissue!"

Shepard noticed the councilors' reactions to him mentioning the Reapers again. The asari sighed quietly in frustration, and the turian subtly shook his head. It was now obvious that they truly believed that his insistence of the existence of the Reapers was merely just an act.

"There is a geth aboard your ship, correct?" the asari asked, her impatience noticeable in her voice.

"Yes," Shepard answered. He was about to attempt to explain Legion's presence, but the asari spoke again.

"We initially believed it to be a mere trophy bot, but it's come to our attention that this is not so, and we find that very disturbing. Due to their ability to self overload their memory cores, no functioning geth has ever been captured. Our scientific advisors have also explained to us that a series of built-in security measures and backups on read-only memory renders them immune to permanent reprogramming attempts; they cannot be hacked for any extended amount of time. Our conclusion is, that this geth among your crew is there out of its own free will. Is this correct?"

"Much like the geth who followed Saren were also operating under their own free will," the turian abruptly added before Shepard could respond.

_Damn it. How can I even begin to explain to them that the geth were divided, that Saren's geth were the ones who worshipped the Reapers?_ "The geth were divided into two separate factions." Shepard began to explain; he made sure to avoid mentioning the Reapers, knowing it was a lost cause trying to use them for any explanation. "The geth on my ship belongs to a separate faction than the ones who followed Saren; they don't intend organics harm, and were not responsible for the attack on Eden Prime or the Citadel."

The three councilors looked at each other momentarily. They seemed taken aback and dumbfounded by Shepard's claim, which spat in the face in all they believed to know about the geth.

"Your ship also has a true, sentient artificial intelligence by the name of 'EDI' built into its systems. Is this correct?" the asari asked. Shepard shook his head, almost wanting to laugh at how they completely ignored his statement regarding the separate factions of the geth.

"EDI was created by Cerberus. As helpful as she is, I had nothing to do with her being on the Normandy."

"Something else we find quite troubling," the salarian this time said. "In the previous months, you recruited the famous scientist and former STG member, Mordin Solus, have you not? The very same Mordin Solus who worked on the project to update the krogan genophage several years ago?"

"Why are you bringing that up?" Shepard asked.

"Mordin Solus is one of the only people in the galaxy to have worked on a genophage modification. He has deep, intimate knowledge over how the genophage functions, down to the genetic level. It seems highly convenient that you just happened to recruit a scientist with such a specific set of skills." the turian said. "And you know who else had a major interest in the genophage? _Saren Arterius_!"

"His genophage work wasn't why I recruited him!" Shepard exclaimed. "I didn't even know about it when he joined my team! Look, you don't understand—"

"No, we _do_ understand," the turian snapped. "We understand that _just_ like Saren, you perpetuate the myth of the Reapers. We understand that just like Saren, you are allied with the geth, and are using an illegal AI. And we understand, that just like Saren, you're working on a genophage cure!"

The salarian then spoke, in a much calmer tone than his turian peer, "Your cybernetic implants, your sentient starship, your alliance with the geth, your potential cure for the genophage, the whole Reaper myth… there are simply too many parallels between you and Saren's own actions. This may all just be circumstantial evidence for now, but it's an overwhelming amount of circumstantial evidence. How can we conclude anything but the obvious conclusion that you're following in Saren's footsteps and attempting the same as him? The implants in your body and the AI in your ship are there to allow you to communicate with the geth. The genophage cure could let you breed an army of krogan to compliment your geth in battle, just as Saren did."

"Can you possibly deny in any way, that you've become a _human version of Saren_?" the turian said. "I wouldn't be surprised if we found a geth glider somewhere on your ship!"

"These extreme parallels to Saren, and the extreme risks they pose, are why you have arrested," the asari said. "And now that you have been explained the charges against you, this arraignment is to be concluded. Due to the extreme flight risk you pose, you are to be remanded without bail until your trial, which is scheduled for two weeks from today. Once you are taken to your holding cell, you will be allowed to contact a defense advocate of your choice. This court is adjourned."

Shepard shook his head, lost in a combination of disbelief and hopelessness. He asked in a low, defeated voice, "When you find me guilty, because I know you will find me guilty, regardless of how good my defense is, what kind of sentence can I expect?" He sighed.

The asari looked at him for a brief interval before responding. "Treason is punishable with execution," she said, but abruptly paused and added, "However, you are not being tried with treason, but with conspiracy to commit treason. The maximum punishment for that is life imprisonment."

With that, the holographic projections of the Council disappeared.

For much of the arraignment, Shepard had felt infuriated and frustrated. He wanted to shout at the councilors, as if he could somehow shout loud enough to make them understand. He had been wanting to explode into fit of rage, but now with it over, he found himself feeling neither angry nor enraged. Instead, there was only depression and pessimism; a feeling of defeat greater than he had ever felt in his life. He felt numb and utterly betrayed. He felt alone.

Much like Anderson before him, he had survived countless battles and impossible odds, only to be taken down by politics; by an enemy that could not be fought with any kind of weapon or any amount of strength.

He sighed loudly, and amidst the downpour of hopelessness, one thought popped into his mind. He found himself longing for the one thing that had given him hope, peace, and happiness since this entire nightmare with the Reapers had begun.

_I wish Tali were here_… he thought to himself, just as his arm was tugged by the C-Sec officer who was to take him to his cell.


	29. What's the Next Step?

_**So What's the Next Step?**_

David Anderson jumped out of his cab the moment it landed in the docking bay and briskly jogged toward the loosely crowded group of people next to the Normandy. It was Shepard's entire team, and it didn't take long for him to realize why they were all crowded outside the ship. There was a holographic police line covering the airlock entrance; the Normandy had been confiscated by C-Sec, and the crew evicted from it.

"Captain Anderson!" shouted Joker as he saw the former councilor approaching. "Boy am I glad to see you." The rest of the group had been talking amongst themselves, all noticeably frustrated and angered, but they turned toward Anderson as they saw him approach. They were all of them eager for information as to their current situation.

"Looks like they confiscated the Normandy. This is worse than I feared," Anderson stated.

"C-Sec came here not long ago, ordering us to vacate the Normandy, saying they were under orders to impound it as evidence. I've never heard so much shouting in my life. The team was _this_ close," joker held up his hand and did a pinching motion, "to breaking out into a fight with them."

"We should have!" Grunt growled as he approached. "That is our ship. If they wanted it so badly, they should have fought us for it!"

"And then what?" Miranda asked sarcastically. "We just keep fighting off all the C-Sec on the Citadel, until we're all either dead or in prison?"

"Sounds better than standing here, letting them do whatever they want!" Grunt angrily snapped. The crew around him were noticeably uncomfortable seeing the large, powerful krogan in such an unstable and agitated state. Several of them instinctively backed away from him. Tali, however, approached him.

"Grunt," she said, "please calm down. Your anger isn't going to help Shepard right now, or us. It could only make things worse. Save it for when we can use it."

Grunt took a large and deep breath, grunting as he exhaled. "Alright," he grumbled, now noticeably more calm than before. "But we better do something soon."

Seeing Tali calm Grunt so easily was initially a bizarre sight to Anderson. In fits of anger, krogan were nearly impossible to be reasoned with, let alone by someone so much smaller. But he quickly realized what was going on. To Grunt, Tali was the mate of his battlemaster. Due to krogan culture's emphasis on the value of females and mates, he had to honor her and show her respect, lest he indirectly insult and dishonor his battlemaster, Shepard.

Tali turned to Anderson and said, "Anderson, can you tell us what's going on? We're all still completely in the dark. All we know is that Shepard's been accused of conspiracy to commit treason."

"Right, that's why I came here as quickly as I could, so that I could touch base with all of you," Anderson said. He inhaled, preparing to begin the long explanation. "I know I don't have to tell you guys this, but the Council has never taken the Reaper threat seriously. I've worked with them for over two years, and even I can't tell if they're just really blind, or the idea that sentient starships are really planning on wiping us out is really as crazy as it sounds. In their defense, if I didn't know Shepard and have complete faith in him—in all of you—I might not believe in the Reapers either.

"For a multitude of reasons, they've come to believe that Shepard is planning on following in Saren's footsteps; that he's going to use the geth to take over the Citadel, and that that's the only reason he argues that the Reapers are real. That's why they arrested him."

"What?" Joker shouted in disbelief, expressing the same opinion that was automatically on everyone's mind, "That's completely bogus! What the shit! How can they possibly think that? The Commander was the one who stopped Saren, for crying out loud!"

"Believe me, you don't need to tell me that," Anderson replied. "Like I said, they've come to believe it for multiple reasons. First of all, you guys should know that the Council never really believed that Shepard had been brought back to life by Cerberus. They did believe he was dead _during_ those two years, but when he appeared out of nowhere those months ago, they were convinced that the story about being rebuilt by Cerberus was a lie; a story made up by him to justify both his absence and his alliance with Cerberus at the time."

"Figures," Miranda said in a calm, yet scoffing manner.

Anderson continued, "Due to Shepard's past accomplishments, the Council decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. As long as he stayed in the Terminus system and investigated the disappearing human colonies, they would turn a blind eye. But everything changed two weeks ago when you guys returned from your mission and met with the Council. All the evidence you acquired on the Collector homeworld that proved they were building a human Reaper—the technical data, the readings from your omni-tools, even the vids and holos taken—failed to convince them that the Reapers are what _we_ know them to be. All it did was convince them that it was the Collectors, and not the geth, who constructed Sovereign, and that Saren somehow acquired it from them.

"So when Shepard argued that their conclusion was wrong, they were shocked. They're so convinced that all the evidence proves that the Reapers aren't real, that they couldn't understand how Shepard could believe in them. From their advisors and various sources of the Council's information network, they were made aware of some supposed similarities between him and Saren, which made them suspect he's trying to replicate Saren's plan. Things such as the perpetuation of the Reaper story, the fact that they've both spent long periods of time in the Terminus systems, the unusual cybernetic implants, his past encounter with the rachni, supposed genophage research, the geth among your—"

Suddenly, Anderson noted that among the Normandy crew standing around him, listening to him, the geth teammate was nowhere to be seen. "Wait, where is the geth?"

Tali was the one to answer, "They took Legion when they confiscated the Normandy. We refused to give him up, but he decided it would be best to cooperate with C-Sec and go with them. For the sake of maintaining 'unit security,' he said."

"They must have taken it to study and use as evidence," Anderson stated. "It's not going to look good for Shepard. The entire galaxy is convinced that the geth are bad guys. If they can prove that geth on your crew is the real deal, it'll make Shepard look bad. Real bad."

"This is batshit insane," Joker said. "It's like when they grounded us the first time—no, it's worse than that! This time they're trying to ruin Shepard's entire reputation!"

"It's hard to believe that the Council can expect to get away with all of this," Miranda said. "They effectively removed the human councilor from power, and now they're trying to paint Shepard as some kind of successor to Saren. How do they expect the people of Earth to tolerate all this? Humanity will see it as some kind of attack. How can the Council of all people not be worried about the political backlash of their actions?"

Anderson sighed. "I wish they were that stupid, but they're politicians; public relations are always at the top of their mind. They gave Udina my spot on the council. It's technically only temporary, since the Earth governments need to approve of him as humanity's councilor, but we all know that they will. They'll be happier to have an actual diplomat on the Council, rather than a washed up Alliance Captain who just happened to have a good endorsement when humanity was offered the seat.

"Something else I should mention; they offered me a position as Udina's advisor. It's obviously just for good public relations, to make it seem like there aren't any backroom politics going on; that humanity's leaders are just being rearranged for the good of all. But screw that—I won't help them look good."

"You may want to reconsider," Miranda said. "It may benefit us at some point to continue having an ally among the Council government."

"It hasn't done any good thus far, but maybe. We'll see," he said, then changed the subject back to Shepard. "As for how they're going to handle this whole political mess with having arrested Shepard, they're going to avoid bringing up any comparisons to Saren in their eventual press release. They'll stick to facts such as that he had a geth on board, that his ship has an Illegal AI, that he had worked with Cerberus, etcetera."

Anderson then glanced over at the Normandy and asked, "What's the status of the AI aboard your ship, by the way? Did they do something to it too?"

"She didn't give them the chance," Joker said. "EDI—that's her name—sealed all the doors to prevent them from going inside. Their engineer tried to hack the door open by plugging his omni-tool directly to it, but _come on_, she's an AI. They gave up and left."

"Not exactly," Garrus commented, sharing his knowledge of C-Sec protocol. "They know there's an AI in control of the ship, and they know it's hostile toward them. What they'll do is commission a large EMP generator to be brought here to disable the entire ship's electronics. That way they can cut their way inside and disconnect her blue box from the rest of the ship."

"How long do we have until they do?" Anderson asked.

"I can't say. We probably have at least twenty hours. There's some paperwork involved in getting an EMP generator big enough for the Normandy, not to mention they're not too worried about the ship going anywhere since it's completely locked in place. There's also that jammer that doesn't let any communications in or out of the ship."

"Actually, I managed to disable the jammer just before Anderson arrived," Tali stated, and the others automatically looked at her. She elaborated, "I couldn't use my omni-tool to hack it since its wireless abilities were also blocked, but I used that nearby public terminal; it's wired directly into the Citadel network. With it I was able to hack into the C-Sec network and access this specific docking bay's jammer. I kept it running—you know, so that they wouldn't realize it got hacked into—but I made it so that it wouldn't broadcast its signal at certain, non-standard frequencies. EDI can communicate with us through them."

"That is correct," EDI's voice suddenly said from Tali's omni-tool. "Thank you for disrupting the jammer, Tali'Zorah. It is good to be able to communicate with you all again."

"Girl, that's genius!" Kasumi abruptly said, "You _have_ to show me how to do that. Might come in handy."

"Right," Tali responded.

Inwardly, Tali felt awkward over helping the ship's AI in such a way. Almost as if she had somehow betrayed someone—betrayed her people. She had grown up being taught to fear and distrust AIs. But at the same time, ever since EDI had been unshackled and saved the Normandy, Tali found herself feeling more comfortable and trusting in regards to her. She observed that even though EDI was now completely free, she remained respectful and helpful toward the crew. And there was also the fact that now without Shepard, all of the crew had to work together, and that included the ship. She couldn't let her bias get in the way.

"Wait, so if we can hack into the jammer, can't we hack into the couplers and free the ship?" Jack asked.

"Well, yes," Tali responded, "but—"

"Why the hell don't we then?" Jack interrupted. "But what?"

"But it would be a bad idea," Miranda answered before Tali could. "The moment we free the ship, the entire Citadel will be alerted. We'll have to leave immediately or we'll just get shot down. And that won't help Shepard at all. If we free the ship, we'd all become wanted criminals, and we'd have to forget about returning to the Citadel any time soon."

Jack really wanted to argue with Miranda, but she knew what she said made sense. She said, "Alright, so let's break Shepard out of wherever the fuck they have him, and get out of here. This place sucks anyway, I couldn't care less about coming here again."

"Now you're talking!" Grunt excitedly exclaimed.

"Now hold on," Anderson interrupted. "We can't make a decision like that just yet. I say we wait until we hear from Shepard first. He's currently remanded, but since he needs to get in contact with a defense advocate, we'll be able to communicate with him."

"Where is Shepard now, anyway? Do you know where he's being kept?" Tali asked. There was noticeable concern in her voice.

Anderson answered, "He's being held at a jail on the Presidium."

"Wait, there's a prison on the Presidium? That seems odd, don't you think?" Tali stated. It seemed strange for a place as prestigious as the Presidium to have such an institute.

"Jail and prison aren't the same thing," Garrus explained, once again drawing upon his C-Sec knowledge. "Jails are where people with short sentences serve their time, and also where remanded people like Shepard are held while waiting for their trial. However, prisons are where they're taken after being found guilty. There's only one prison on the Citadel, but all the sections have their own jail houses, even the Presidium. It's attached to a large C-Sec station on the opposite end of the ring from the embassies. That's where they're keeping Shepard. If he's found guilty, he'll be transferred to the Citadel's prison."

Tali sighed and said, "We have to figure out a way to help him. We can't let that happen."

"True enough. We need to figure something out," Anderson said. "Listen, if you're confident that your ship is safe on its own, let's go to my home. It's not very large—at least by a former councilor's standards—but there's enough room for all of you there. We can keep discussing this there until we can get into contact with Shepard."

The group gathered the few belongings they had amongst themselves and started walking so as to find some transportation for all of them. As they walked, Tali stepped close to Garrus and asked, "What kind of place is the jail where Shepard is being held at? I know he can take care of himself, but it just… it worries me for him to be in such a place alone."

"Jails aren't as bad as prisons, but they're never pleasant places," Garrus answered in a regretfully honest way. He then continued, in a more upbeat tone of voice, "But don't worry about Shepard; I'd be more concerned about those locked in with him. Spirits help anyone stupid enough to piss him off right now…"

. . .

"So, you're that bigshot human everyone's talking about?"

Shepard was sitting with his back to the wall at a rear table in the jail cafeteria, wearing a pale blue prison uniform, picking away at the chunky, dark green pudding side dish on his food tray. There was a nearly complete sandwich resting on the main portion of the tray. The foulness of the bizarre slice of meat inside it had been confirmed by a single bite.

Shepard looked up at the source of the statement, and saw it was a krogan prisoner, standing before him on the opposite side of the table. His thick, leathery hide was covered by multiple scars, but they were somewhat different than the scars Shepard had often seen on other krogan. Numerous and small, they were the result of a lifetime of melee brawls and stabbings. They were not the scars of a true warrior, but of a criminal.

"If you're intention is to intimidate me into giving you my food, don't bother," Shepard said, and then slid his tray across the table in the direction of the krogan. "You can _have_ it. And I thought my ship's cook was bad..."

The krogan looked at Shepard, completely unamused at his comment. He said, "Everybody's talking about how you're supposed to some tough shit human—even the screws are making a big deal outta you. I've already been sentenced to life and just waiting a transfer. So I think, I can really make a name for myself… by killing you."

Shepard just calmly smiled at the krogan. "Life, huh? That's quite a long sentence for a krogan. What are you in for?" he asked.

"Lots of things. Rape; torture; murder. Not necessarily at different times, either. Heh…" the krogan answered, ending with a low, growling chuckle.

"You sound like a real tough guy," Shepard said; the krogan couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "So it seems to me that you don't need to worry about making a name for yourself. How about you just go and finish your meal? Hell, the offer to have mine still stands; maybe it's actually edible to someone with two stomachs."

The krogan growled quietly in an anger that was rapidly building. It infuriated him to be dismissed in such a way; it felt like he was being mocked. The human sitting down in front of him—the smaller, weaker creature—wasn't taking him seriously. He wasn't respecting him, and he needed to be taught a lesson. "Maybe I just like the sound of human bones breaking!" he yelled, and in a sudden movement grabbed Shepard, lifting him out of where he sat and pinning him to the nearby wall.

Shepard said, "It's too bad your race has an extra pair of balls," before suddenly exclaiming, "and not an extra pair of eyes!" In an instant, Shepard brought his arms up and jammed his thumbs into each of the krogan's black, beady eyes. There was no hesitation, and Shepard did not hold back. He pushed into the sockets as fast and hard as he could. The krogan let out a howl of pain as he let go of Shepard and brought his hands up to his face, where a steady stream of blood was rapidly oozing out of both eye sockets.

The moment Shepard was freed, he kicked the krogan hard between his legs. The krogan automatically bent over from the deep, resonating burst of pain coming from his four testicles. Shepard then stepped to his side, grabbing hold of the bony crest on the top of his head with both hands. With his fingers firmly hooked under its ridge, he yanked back in a single, powerful burst of strength. A sickening, cracking sound popped from the krogan's head as the crest was pulled several inches up off the head, but ultimately remaining attached.

The krogan's massive body fell to the ground with a loud thud. He lay motionless, and aside from the slowly building pool of blood under his head and an occasional twitch, there was no movement. Shepard looked up from the collapsed heap of flesh on the floor, and saw that everybody in the cafeteria was staring at him, all silent; amazed over how within a few mere seconds the krogan had gone from seemingly having the upper hand, to lying on the floor, either dead or completely unconscious. The speed and brutality of Shepard's retaliation was almost beyond belief.

Shepard raised his bloodied hand and pointed toward the rest of the cafeteria. In a loud voice he said, "All of you listen up. I'm a nice guy—I'm a _damned nice_ guy, but if anyone else tries to threaten me—ever—you'll end up like this krogan. Remember this simple fact: I'm fucking _Commander Shepard_, and I have a higher body count than everyone here, _put together!_"

.

After the incident in the cafeteria, Shepard was placed in a cell by himself. Fortunately for him, the C-Sec officers on duty had witnessed the entire thing, and were able to confirm that he acted in self-defense. It also helped that the krogan was a repeated felon and convicted murderer, and had no sympathy from any of the guards. Still, despite the lack of disciplinary action against Shepard for the incident, C-Sec felt it best if he were kept in his own cell, away from the rest of the prisoner population, in a mostly empty wing of the jail.

Shepard lay on the mattress of the small, dimly lit cell, staring up at fuzzy shadows on the ceiling. Each one spread out away from the metal bars that kept him locked in. They grew fuzzier and dimmer before finally disappearing into the halo of light that radiated around the single light bulb in the center of the cell ceiling. He had only been lying there for no more than an hour, but in that time he had completely cooled down from the violence in the cafeteria, and his mind had since been racing over various thoughts.

Initially he contemplated how many times he'll have to fight someone like earlier, when he's taken to prison; he had little doubt that the Council would find him guilty. Would other prisoners reason how the krogan did, and attempt to kill him to gain fear and respect from other felons? Would others care that he was the hero of the Battle of the Citadel, and treat him well for it? Or would they be jealous and resent him for it? But even those thoughts had ended quickly, as Shepard's mind wandered back to the fact that the Reapers still threatened everyone, and everything. After all, he had little reason to fear the horrors of a prison; he had seen worse already throughout his life.

Ever since the suicide mission on the Collector Homeworld, one thought in particular had been steadily growing in the back of Shepard's mind. As he lay trapped in his cell, it was finally able to fully blossom. He had come to realize that he truly hadn't been responsible for the success against the Collectors, or even been that necessary to the team to stop them. His biggest accomplishment had merely been recruiting the team, and keeping them unified with his leadership and guidance. Ultimately, it was his team that stopped the Collectors, not him. Everyone had a specific job on the Collector base, and everyone did their job perfectly. Shepard himself, despite being their leader, had no important skill that proved necessary for the mission. All he did was lead a team in combat, and contribute his skill with weapons. He didn't stop the collectors; he was just part of the group that did.

His biggest concern over being imprisoned now was not that the team really needed his skills to stop the Reapers, but that they might drift apart without him. United, their combined might and skill made them powerful enough to stand against armies; but separated, they were mere individuals, and for all of the strength and skill each one possessed, they were all just as helpless against the Reapers as anyone else in the galaxy.

However, even the possibility of them drifting apart without him wasn't much of a concern as he pondered all that had happened in their past mission. Garrus was an astonishingly good combat leader, and he once again proved it as he kept his entire team alive on the Collector homeworld. There was also Miranda, who had a quick mind and a great skill in thinking tactfully. The entire Normandy team would be safe in their hands, if the worst came to pass.

Tali popped into Shepard's mind numerous times as he stared up at that ceiling, but he refused to think about her; it was too difficult to think about what her life will be like with him in prison, and it was something he didn't want to cope with at the moment. In one brief period, before that feeling of sudden awareness that alerted him that his thoughts had drifted back to her, he found himself thinking about how if he's imprisoned, maybe one day years from now, she would possibly find someone else to love her and make her happy. Shepard knew it would be best if she moved on; she deserved to be happy and loved. But at the same time, the thought of her being in another's arms absolutely sickened him. Deep, deep down, he found himself hoping it would never happen. And it was at that moment when he realized, that it was the most selfish thought that had ever crossed his mind, and he felt greatly ashamed.

His mind snapped away from thinking of Tali, and wandered into other thoughts and concerns, until down the hall he suddenly heard the rattling sound of the corridor gate opening, which brought instant pause to his all ponderings. After the resonating boom of it being slamming closed, he could hear footsteps approaching, and before long a turian C-Sec officer stood before his cell.

"Good news, you've been cleared to use a public terminal," the turian said. "You'll finally be able to make contact with your defense advocate, or whoever it is you want to call."

"About time," Shepard stated as he got up.

. . .

David Anderson's apartment was much like what was to be expected from a single man who had spent his life serving in the military. There were virtually no holos of family throughout the modestly decorated living space. The furniture was rather was simple, and the assorted pieces created no particular style or look. The only eye-catching aspect of the apartment was the large window that gave a stunning view of the Citadel Ward spanning off into the distance. Unlike the Councilors, Udina, and most other important figures that worked within the Citadel's government, Anderson chose not to live on the Presidium. Instead, he lived on Kithoi Ward, in the somewhat upper-class area located right before the junction that connected the ward to the Presidium.

Although his apartment was small by a 'former councilor's standards,' as he had put it, it was still an above-average size living area, roomy enough for the entire Normandy crew to fit inside, if a bit cramped. Mess Sergeant Gardner quickly made himself at home in the kitchen, and prepared some simple snacks for the team, although most were not in the mood to eat. Instead, they killed time by idling in small groups, conversing over the events of the day. They discussed everything from what happened to Legion, to what might happen at Shepard's trial, to what they would do if the team broke up. A small communicator had been set up on the console table in the middle of the living room, where most of the team was, that had a link to the Normandy so that EDI could stay up to date with them.

Suddenly, all the conversations and discussions came to an abrupt end. "I've got Shepard!" Tali exclaimed. She typed a few commands into her omni-tool and transferred Shepard's call to the vid display in the living room so all could see him.

"It's good to see all of you," Shepard said through the display, with a warm yet weary smile. Noticing they were in a place he did not recognize, he asked, "Where are you guys?"

"We're at Anderson's home," Tali quickly answered. "He's explained everything to us."

"Good," Shepard responded. "I wasn't looking forward to having to explain what happened at the arraignment."

Seeing Shepard in his pale blue prison uniform was a sad sight for everyone, but Tali most of all. If anyone didn't deserve to be in it, it was Shepard. "How are you?" Tali asked, her concern obvious. "Are you okay?"

"I'm about as well as a person can be in a place like this. But don't worry about me Tali, I'm fine. But what about you guys? How are you all holding up?"

"We… have some really bad news, Shepard…" Tali said.

Shepard sighed and mumbled, "_How could this day get any worse…_ What's happened?"

After hesitating briefly, Tali finally said, "Legion is dead."

"What?" Shepard exclaimed in surprise. "How?"

"Some time after they arrested you, we were evicted from the ship. They also took Legion with them. Since then I've managed to hack the docking bay jammer so that EDI can maintain contact with us. She also established a low-level link with Legion. About half an hour ago, EDI detected that Legion fried his memory core. C-Sec was probably trying to hack into him or gather data from him. Whatever they were trying to do, he ended up self-overloading his core so they couldn't get any data from him."

"Damn it!" Shepard shouted. "This is bad. We really needed him to be able to communicate with the geth. Son of a bitch—the Council has gone too far!"

"There is some cause for relief, Shepard," EDI said, speaking up from the communicator on the console table. "Just before Legion overloaded its memory core, I detected a massive geth transmission burst. Based on the size of the transmission, I estimate that all of Legion's memories and processes have been backed up. Legion has rejoined the geth collective, so it is not truly dead."

Shepard sighed with some relief, but was still noticeably frustrated. He said, "Well, that's _something_, at least. I'm damned piss that we lost him, but at least he's not actually gone. If he's rejoined the rest of the geth, they'll now know all he knows, and we may still be able to communicate with them."

"That's all well and good, Commander," Miranda said, "but for now we should stay focused on the immediate problem with the Council. What are your orders?"

Shepard thought for an unusually long moment before responding. "I won't lie to you guys. This doesn't look good. After my arraignment before the Council, I'm certain that I don't stand much chance of being found innocent. Not because their case is strong, but because they're the ones pulling all the strings. I really don't believe I'm going to be walking out of this a free man."

Shepard paused and hesitated before continuing. "I've thought a lot about this. I know you won't like my decision, but… I believe it would be best if you continue on without me."

Almost immediately, a roar of objections emerged from the entire Normandy crew. _"What?" "How can you say that!" "We need you!" "You're our leader!" "We're not going to leave you behind!"_

"Everyone, look," Shepard said, interrupting their objections. Once they died down, he continued, "Our mission aboard the Collector Base was somewhat of a turning point. Since then, I've realized that this group really doesn't _need_ me. There's no individual person that makes or breaks us, not even me. Aboard the Collector Base, I witnessed everyone fulfill separate duties; most of which I could never have done myself. Destroying that base wasn't my accomplishment, it was the accomplishment of us as a whole. This team as a whole can do anything, and that whole shouldn't be risked for a single individual, not even me; there's too much riding on us. The fact of the matter is, my biggest contribution is my ability to lead and provide direction. That's all I've ever really contributed, and I believe both Garrus and Miranda can adequately take my place on that."

Before he could continue speaking, Tali interrupted him. She said, in a surprisingly stern voice that no one had ever heard from her, "Shepard… shut the _hell_ up." As a subordinate, she could never speak like that to him, the ship's captain. But as his girlfriend, it was completely within her right. "We are NOT going to leave you and forget about you. I don't know _what's _gotten into you, or _why_ you've taken this pessimistic attitude, but it's not like you, and I _don't_ like it. At all. So just _shut the hell up_."

The entire room was completely silent; no one had ever seen Tali speak like that to anyone, let alone Shepard.

Shepard just stared at her with a blank expression for a few seconds. Suddenly, a tiny smirk appeared on his face and he broke into a silent chuckle to himself while subtly shaking his head.

"You've made your point," he finally said. "Look, I'm going to sign my power of attorney over to you, Tali. Use it to assign me a good defense advocate, and in any way that will help the team."

"Are you sure you're alright, Shepard?" Tali asked, still worried about how strangely pessimistic his attitude had been. "You really didn't seem like yourself just then."

"I'm fine," Shepard responded. "I'm just… feeling a little defeated, I suppose. Do you remember on Noveria, when that undercover secretary said I couldn't bludgeon through bureaucracy? Well I'm finally seeing her point. I'm not any good at this political crap; it's like trying to fight an enemy immune to bullets. This whole mess isn't something that can be solved by just blowing up the Council—as much as I wish it were so."

"Are you sure about that?" Grunt said. "Maybe we should try it anyway—it couldn't hurt. Well, heh, I guess it could."

Shepard smiled, his spirits slightly lifted by Grunt's amusing comment. He said, "Don't ever change, Grunt."

Shepard then suddenly turned his head, as if answering someone speaking to him, off to his side. The crew couldn't hear what was being said, but after a few seconds Shepard turned back to them and said, "Listen, my time is up for now. I have to go for a while. All of you, take care of yourselves. No matter what happens, you'll always make me proud." Shepard addressed everyone as he spoke, but his eyes remained focused on Tali.

After the call ended, an awkward silence filled the room. Everybody's minds lingered on what felt like a far too brief talk with their leader. All of their minds were active, but no one knew exactly what to say.

The silence was then finally broken by Joker, who managed to say what everyone else was thinking. "So… we're going to break him the hell out of there, right?"

"You read my mind," Tali said, as the entire team nodded and spoke in agreement. As if they somehow shared a telepathic link, they all knew it was completely unanimous among them that they should break Shepard out; there was no discussion needed.

"Agreed. We can't leave him behind," Garrus said. "Stealing the Normandy shouldn't be a problem, it's just a matter of disabling the docking couplers. We'll need to be fast, though; once the Citadel finds out it's been released, there's a chance—albeit a slim one—that they may try and shoot us down. But stealing the Normandy is the easy part… what are we going to do about Shepard?"

"We should break up into two teams," Miranda said. "One team acquires the Normandy, and the other assaults the jail. However, we'll need to be precisely coordinated. Both teams will need to execute their tasks at the right moment to maximize the time before the Council is alerted."

"Hold on a minute," Garrus said. "I know some of you might not care, but we can't just attack a C-Sec facility—that would require killing C-Sec personnel! They may not be on our side right now, but they're officers of the law; they're just following orders. They don't deserve to die."

"I'm sorry, Garrus," Miranda said, with some actual sincerity noticeable in her voice. "But I don't see any other way."

"I'm with the Cheerleader on this," Jack stated. "We smash in there, kill anyone who gets in our way, and get the hell out with Shepard. The smart ones will know better than to attack us."

Thane had been sitting off by himself, somewhat apart from the rest of the group. He had said little since they arrived, but he had attentively been listening to everything. He calmly stood up and joined the discussion, "Some of you have been working with Shepard too long." The entire group looked at him. "His… _style_ of bludgeoning through all obstacles works well for him—more than I ever thought possible—but it is not the only option. Sometimes the darkness of shadows is a better ally than the light of muzzle flashes."

Tali was the first to respond, "Thane, are you saying you could sneak into that jail and secretly free Shepard?"

"If Shepard could be quietly reached and freed, it would be significantly faster and less risky than simply assaulting the facility," Thane responded. "Regretfully, I don't believe it would be possible for me to infiltrate it; not without proper time to plan and scout the facility. Jails by their nature are secure structures. They are hardly impregnable, but if I had a target in one, I could easily spend weeks studying it, learning what I can about the personnel, the building's layout, the location of security scanners—"

Thane continued speaking, but upon hearing him mention security scanners, an idea instantly clicked in Tali's mind. She remembered two weeks ago, what happened when she walked through security gate on Citadel Tower:

_She attempted to pass, but the gate alarm sounded._

_"Don't worry about it. Go on through, miss," the turian said after looking at her briefly, and noting she carried no weapons. "You're the first quarian I've seen up here, but these security gates are notorious for false positives with quarians. Something about your exo-suits messes up their readings."_

Quarian suits were not like those used by other races such as the volus. They were not mass produced, commercial products that the scanners could easily be programmed to recognize. Instead, it was their nature to be made out of parts that could have been salvaged from anywhere, or even been custom built. A part from a weapon could easily end up being integrated into a quarian suit's life-support system, fulfilling a completely different purpose than it was originally built for. This non-standard nature of quarian suits meant that scanners could easily be mistaken with them.

"I have an idea," Tali abruptly said. "The security scanners used by C-Sec are prone to false positives with quarian suits—it's happened to me before. What if I went to visit Shepard, and broke him out? I could sneak in some small weapons, like a pair of stun guns or flash bangs, that we can use against C-Sec without killing anyone. Not to mention I'd have my omni-tool and Chikktika."

"I see," Thane said with a small, approving smile. "Hide in plain sight rather than in the shadows. Infiltrate using social stealth… the idea intrigues me."

"No, that won't work," Miranda interrupted. "It's all riding on the hope that they believe the scanner is just giving off a false positive. There's also the fact that no one besides Shepard's defense advocate will be allowed to see him."

"Tali _does_ have Shepard's power of attorney now," Garrus stated. "She could register herself as his defense advocate. There's no law saying a quarian can't serve as someone's legal defense; it's just very rare."

"Alright, she gets in," Miranda said, "but what then? I'll admit she's a decent shot, and we all know Shepard's good, but taking on all that C-Sec with stun guns and flash bangs is suicide."

"I believe I have a solution," Thane said. "Kasumi and I could give our tactical cloak generators to Tali. If she can sneak them in, then once Shepard is freed the two of them could stealth past C-Sec. The cloak doesn't last long before needing a recharge, and it won't fool security gates, but if the two of them are fast and clever, they should be able to make it out with minimal conflict."

"I haven't parted with my cloaker in a _long_ time," Kasumi said, "But I suppose Shep is worth it, and I do like the plan; I think it can work."

"I still don't like this, but it sounds like you've all made up your minds," Miranda said, "If you go through with this, I strongly suggest we have a strike team waiting outside the C-Sec station in case something goes wrong. If you get trapped or caught, they'll be able to assault the building and get you and Shepard out of there."

"I sincerely hope we don't need them, but I agree that a backup team wouldn't be a bad idea," Tali said. "Who's going to be on the strike team?"

"I'll go," Grunt said.

"A krogan will attract too much attention on the Presidium," Miranda quickly refuted. "I recommend myself, Jacob, and somebody else. How about you, Garrus? A turian will blend in well."

"That wouldn't be a good idea," Garrus responded. "I was in C-Sec for a long time. If someone recognizes me outside the building, it could make them suspicious."

"I will go," Thane said.

"Drell are too rare," Miranda said, "You would also draw attention on the Presidium."

"I assure you," Thane responded, "that of all of us, I will be the least seen; the least noticed; and the least remembered."

"Very well," Miranda said. She knew that she couldn't argue that, as an assassin, it was his nature to be invisible, even when not cloaked. "It's decided then. Myself, Jacob, Thane, and Tali are to go to the Presidium. The rest of you will head back and free the Normandy."

"Wait, once we free Shepard," Tali said, "how are we going to rejoin the others? I'm guessing some kind of pickup?"

Joker answered, "You got that right! C-Sec is going to _crap their pants_ when they see the Normandy smash through that fancy artificial sky of the Presidium and pick you guys up. Let's just hope we can then escape, because I don't want to get stuck with _that_ bill."

Garrus then said, "If everyone's ready, let's start getting ready to move. We have our Commander's ass to save."


	30. I Can't Believe That Worked

_**I Can't Believe That Worked.**_

_It's now or never. I can do this. It's for Shepard._

Tali inhaled a deep breath, and stepped through the entrance right in front of her. She was now inside the C-Sec station that served as the face for the jail where Shepard was being kept. Inwardly she was terrified; any number of things could go wrong. But outwardly, she held her head high, her back was straight, and her arms confidently swung back and forth in sync with her brisk, steady steps. It was all an act; a necessary one to deceive the C-Sec officers into thinking she was there to serve as Shepard's defense advocate. After all, if she were a person truly capable of serving as one's legal defense, she would be knowledgeable enough in Citadel law to not only not be intimidated by any C-Sec officer, but have a certain aura of arrogance around her. In the game of law, she was supposedly one of the few who had read and studied the rules.

In her hand she carried a datapad loaded with the type of software and files one would expect an attorney to have; a commercial office suite, extra-net bookmarks to Citadel law sites, dummy files, and various other programs needed in a legal profession (Ironically, the office suite had been pirated from the extra-net). She brought the datapad for no purpose other than to make her act look more convincing, but she found herself harnessing it as a source of confidence. She couldn't wear any kind of business attire, like a real attorney would surely wear, so the datapad was the closest thing she had to a disguise.

While the datapad she carried was a source of confidence, the very different objects she kept hidden throughout her suit were a constant drain of it. Among the contraband she smuggled were two flash bang grenades that she kept together in one of her suit's hidden pockets, as well as the small tactical cloak devices she kept attached to the back of her helmet, concealed by her purple hood. She also carried two stun guns, which were attached to her back, underneath a loose fold of the adorning purple fabric that wrapped around her torso and legs. While the flash bangs had been provided by Kasumi, the stun guns had been acquired from an obscure weapons dealer in the wards. Like most conventional weaponry, they operated by shaving a small, grain-sized slug from a metal block. The slug was then charged with a powerful charge of static electricity as it was fired. The charge would then be transferred to the target upon impact, incapacitating him. Unlike standard weaponry, however, the stun guns did not incorporate a mass accelerator. With no means to lower the mass of the projectiles, they were fired at a speed that was comparatively very slow, and had an effective range of no more than ten meters. This also meant that the slugs were non-lethal; even at extremely close proximities, they could barely pierce the skin.

The lobby of the station Tali was now inside of had a partition wall that spanned the width of the room, effectively sealing off the rest of the station. In its center was an opening that served as a desk for the turian behind it, and off to the side was a hallway entrance, guarded by a security gate and another turian. As Tali approached the front desk, she could just barely feel her smuggled items pressing against her through the suit material, yet she was very much consciously aware of them. The tactile sensation of their presence was very subtle, but her mind greatly augmented their feel; they were a burning reminder of how risky this was, and how close she was to at any moment getting into very big trouble.

"I'm about to talk to someone," Tali said in a very low whisper that was inaudible beyond her helmet. "Here we go."

"Stay alert. Don't let them see you nervous," Miranda quickly responded through her communicator. She was outside the C-Sec station with Jacob, sitting at a nearby bench, pretending to be tourists admiring the Presidium. Thane was outside too, but true to his word, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Good luck," Jacob added. "You can do it."

After a few more steps, Tali finally reached the front desk of the C-Sec facility. The turian behind it had been busily working on his private terminal, and only just now noticed Tali's presence. He looked at her, and his mandibles widened ever so slightly; a reflex to the unusual sight of the quarian standing before his desk. Tali noted the holographic badge on his chest, which read, _'CITADEL SECURITY, P-08177. Agaptus Felix, Captain.'_

Knowing she had to play the part of a determined, confident legal attorney, she quickly spoke up, before the turian could inquire as to her presence. "I am John Shepard's defense advocate," she blurted out in a somewhat awkward way. She immediately composed herself, and continued, now with a firmer tone of voice. "I'm here to see my client."

"_You're_ Shepard's advocate?" the turian said. "_Spectre_ Shepard's advocate?"

"That is correct."

"Uh, but you're a… I've never seen…"

Tali had expected all along to be doubted because she was a quarian, and she had feared how she would react to it. But now that it finally happened, she found herself not feeling nervous or scared or intimidated, but angry. Why was it so surprising for a quarian to be an attorney? Because of the suit? Because of the flotilla? None of that affected a person's ability to practice law in any way. Her vexation at the turian's prejudice ended up being an ally; it empowered her to speak boldly, and strengthen her act. "Listen, I've gotten that same damn look from C-Sec officers throughout all the years of my legal practice. All you need to know is that I am registered as his legal advocate, and if you hinder my ability to communicate with my client because of my race, you'll not only be in violation of his basic rights, you'll be in violation of numerous Citadel anti-prejudice laws."

"Alright, lady, calm down!" the turian immediately responded. "I meant no offense. I've just never seen a quarian be someone's defense advocate before."

_Yes! He bought it!_

"Well, now you have," Tali said. "Now please, can I be taken to my client?"

"One moment," the turian said as he typed into his terminal, looking up Shepard's file. After a few seconds he looked up at Tali and said, "Tali… Zorah, nar... Rayya?" He spoke her name slowly, somewhat intimidated by it, and fearful he would mispronounce it and offend her again.

"That is correct."

The turian typed a few more things, and then said to her. "Alright, you're cleared for entrance. Just go on through that gate over there. A couple of my officers will escort you to your client's cell," the turian said, pointing toward the security gate off to the side.

"Thank you," Tali said, and briskly walked toward the gate.

The rest of the Presidium team had a channel open with Tali, so they were able to listen in on everything that she both said and heard. As she departed from the front desk, Jacob said, "I gotta admit, you would've fooled me, too."

Miranda also added, "Good job, but stay focused. That security gate will be your real test."

Tali knew Miranda was right; the security gate would truly be what decided the success of this plan. If she could get through it, she knew she would be in the clear. She felt a knot in her stomach from her nervousness, but at the same time, her success with the turian captain left her feeling highly confident and excited. With the right words and some acting, she had been able to convince him that she was actually an experienced attorney. And now, as she approached the gate, she would need to act again; she would have to convince the guard at the gate that the inevitable security alert was merely a false positive.

. . .

"Everyone, I just got word. Tali is now inside the C-Sec station," Garrus said, speaking to the entire Normandy crew. They were gathered around, hidden out of sight in an alley near the docking bay where the Normandy was kept.

"So what now?" Joker asked.

"Kasumi, Grunt, Jack, and I are going to move toward the Normandy and make sure the coast is clear. Mordin, you stay with the Normandy crew and keep an eye on them," Garrus said.

"Will do," Mordin responded.

"Once it's confirmed to be cleared, Kasumi and I will try and hack into the docking bay controls and shut down the magnetic couplers. While we're working on that, Grunt and Jack will keep watch while all of you get ready by the police line to enter the Normandy. EDI will let us in at any time, but the moment we cross that police line, C-Sec will be alerted. So it's imperative we don't cross it until just before the couplers are disabled."

Joker said, "This is probably a dumb question, but can't we just crawl under the line?"

"No," Garrus answered. "The holographic police line is just there as a visual element. The sensors of its projectors will detect if anyone crosses past them, or even just tampers with them at all."

"Figures," Joker said. "At least I won't have to hear EDI make a joke about me crawling back to her or something."

Garrus continued with the instructions, "I'm going to recap, to make sure everyone is clear on this. The Citadel will be alerted when we either cross the line, or disable the couplers. However, we also have to wait until we hear that Tali has freed Shepard. Ideally, we'll steal the Normandy just as he's freed, and arrive on the Presidium just as they make their escape from the jail."

"What about the Citadel's defensive guns?" Joker asked.

"That's up to you and EDI. For what it's worth, I have faith you'll keep us alive."

"Great…"

"I actually wouldn't worry too much about them. They probably won't risk collateral damage by firing at us, especially if we stay close to the structure," Garrus said, remembering back to when his orders to shoot down Dr. Saleon were ignored out of fear of hurting civilians. "Alright guys, looks like we're ready. Let's move out," he instructed, and proceeded to exit the alley with Grunt, Kasumi, and Jack following him. "The Normandy is just this way."

After walking down another alley and turning a corner, the Normandy came into view. As did something unexpected, that looked very much out of place. There was a group of about four people standing near the Normandy's airlock entrance, with a fifth one operating a forklift, transporting a large EMP generator toward the Normandy. What made the sight bizarre, was that the people were all humans. And none of them were wearing a C-Sec uniform.

. . .

The red lights on top of the security gate flashed in conjunction with its loud, blaring alert sound.

"Stand back, miss," the C-Sec officer said as he turned off the gate alarm, and proceeded to look at its vid display.

Continuing her act as the impatient defense advocate, Tali let out a loud, annoyed grunt and said, "I hate when this happens. It happens _all_ the time."

"I'm getting some unusual readings," the officer said as he looked at the screen, then abruptly said in a stern voice, "Stand right there. Don't move."

"What's the problem?"

The officer approached and activated his omni-tool, scanning Tali's body in a single up-to-down motion. After looking at his omni-tool, he said, "According to this I'm picking up some weapons' grade battery packs, as well as the oxidizing agent potassium perchlorate, which is a common component of certain explosives. Care to explain this, miss?"

Now was the time for Tali to put on her best performance; it all depended on her pulling this off. Sounding as annoyed as ever, she said, "Oh Keelah… you have _got_ to be kidding me. Seriously? Don't you know _anything_ about quarians? I know there aren't meant of us here on the Citadel, but I figured _some_ kind of basic education on all races would be standard for C-Sec."

Tali sighed with frustration and continued, "You're surprised that there are battery packs within my suit? What do you think powers my suit's life support systems? See this blinking speech indicator?" she tapped the blinking, pale blue light of her mask's mouthpiece, "What do you think powers it? It isn't magic! And an 'oxidizing agent used in explosives'? Are you _serious_? Of course there's an oxidizing agent in my suit—how do you think I breathe? Do you see any air tanks hanging from my suit? The oxidizer mixes with nitrogen to produce breathable air!" Tali wasn't even sure if what she said made any sense. But the officer looked young, and the fact that he was stuck with the lowly position of guarding the gate was an indicator he was of poor rank, and probably not very experienced at all.

The guard was caught off guard and intimidated by Tali's frustrated act and legitimate sounding explanations. She was correct in that he knew next to nothing about her race, and he knew he couldn't dispute any of what she said. "Uh… I see. Perhaps I should call the captain," he said awkwardly.

"Don't bother, I'll do it for you," Tali said and then turned, facing in direction of the front desk. She called out loudly, "Captain Felix, will you come here, please? I'm having a problem with one of your officers." She then turned back to the guard, folding her arms and looking right at him as she waited for the captain to arrive. The turian was noticeably embarrassed.

"What's the problem?" Felix said as he arrived at the gate.

"You tell me, captain," Tali said, still standing in her annoyed stance. "Why am I being treated like a criminal? Your officer here doesn't seem to understand that these gates have a tendency to give false positives on quarians. He doesn't understand that unlike the volus, our suits aren't made from common, commercially manufactured parts that the gates can easily recognize. And because of this, I'm being impeded from servicing my client. This is feeling a _lot_ like racial discrimination, captain."

"Sir, let me explain," the guard said. "The security gate detected some—"

"Did it detect any mass accelerators?" Felix curtly interrupted.

"No, but—"

"Then we don't need to worry. Let her through. The last thing we need is another incident."

_Oh Keelah! I can't believe my act worked! Hah! Wait, what did he mean by that?_ "Thank you. But what do you mean by 'another incident'?"

"Your client… he got assaulted by a krogan in the cafeteria a few hours ago," Felix reluctantly answered. He then quickly added, "But don't worry, he wasn't hurt at all. Took him all of five seconds to take him out; none of my guards ever saw anything like it."

"Good. Be grateful Shepard wasn't hurt in _your_ jail, Captain" Tali said. "Now please, take me to him. The sooner I see him, the sooner I can get him out of here."

Tali's double entendre was entirely accidental, and she immediately felt herself flush with heat and nervousness; a comment like that was just too close. _'The sooner I see him, the sooner I can get him out of here?' Keelah, what's wrong with me? I need to pick my words more carefully than that._

"I'm glad you're so confident in your skill as an advocate," Felix said, "because I really don't like the idea of someone like Shepard getting thrown in prison. I sincerely hope he is innocent."

_Phew._

The C-Sec captain then called two of his officers over, and instructed them to escort Tali to Shepard's cell. Tali was beaming with excitement. She had done it. She was now officially within C-Sec, and she had managed to smuggle in the cloaking devices, the stun guns, and the flash bangs.

_Now it's just a matter of being taken to Shepard, freeing him from his cell, and escaping. What could possibly go wrong?_

. . .

"EDI, who are those people just outside the ship?" Garrus quickly asked into his communicator, staying out of view, along with the rest of his team.

"I am not aware of anyone outside the ship, Garrus," EDI answered. "They must be standing beyond the viewing range of the airlock camera."

"They're Cerberus," Jack said with a note of disdain in her voice.

"How do you know?" asked Garrus.

"Call it a hunch."

Garrus switched to Miranda's channel on his communicator and asked, "Miranda, Garrus here. There's a group of people outside the Normandy. It looks like they're planning on infiltrating it, but they're not C-Sec; we think they're Cerberus."

"I have no doubt that they are," Miranda answered. "This doesn't surprise me at all—I should have seen it coming. The Illusive Man must be trying to take back the Normandy while he has the chance."

"That's not going to happen," Garrus said, then turned back to the team. He said, "Miranda's confident that they are Cerberus, and they're trying to take the Normandy. But we're obviously not going to give them the chance."

"Please tell me we can kill them," Jack said.

"If they're Cerberus, you can do whatever you want to them for all I care," Garrus responded as he detached his assault rifle from his back and armed it. Grunt chuckled in a quiet growl of amusement, eagerly anticipating the prospect of a battle.

The team then proceeded to step out from the alley, and calmly approached the mysterious group of humans, not wanting to open fire without some kind of confirmation that they were hostile. However, the moment that the group noticed them, they yelled some things amongst each other, and one immediately tossed a grenade in the team's direction. Right as he threw it, they all took cover behind the now stopped forklift.

Garrus and the others jumped behind some nearby metal storage crates, which provided them cover from the shrapnel of the grenade, as well as from the gunfire that suddenly erupted from the humans.

"Cerberus or not, these idiots are ground meat!" Grunt yelled as he grabbed his shotgun.

"Agreed," Garrus responded, loud enough to be heard over the roaring of gunfire impacting their cover. He turned and looked at Jack, "I'll give you covering fire. Use your biotic push to topple over that forklift they're using for cover!"

"Got it!" Jack responded.

The moment there was a pause in the gunfire, Garrus quickly leaned over his cover and unleashed a deadly torrent of fire from his assault rifle. The enemy group immediately leaned behind the forklift. That was Jack's cue. She pulsed with a wave of blue biotic energy, and unleashed a powerful push. The entire forklift suddenly toppled over and fell. Two of the humans failed to react quickly enough and were crushed by the heavy machine and its large payload. The other three ran out in time, sprinting away toward the nearest available cover, but they didn't make it half way before the combined shots of Grunt's shotgun, Kasumi's submachine gun, and Garrus' assault rifle tore through their shields, and then their flesh, killing them.

"That's all of them right?" Kasumi asked as they got up from behind their cover.

"It was just those five, but stay on alert, there might be more," Garrus said. "Move in, check the bodies. See if they have any identification."

The group quickly moved toward the toppled over forklift, their weapons still drawn. They saw the limbs of one man, and half the torso of a woman, sticking out from underneath the forklift, confirming that the biotic push had indeed killed them. They then checked the dead bodies a short distance away. They found no formal identification on any of them, but there was one thing that very strongly suggested that they were indeed Cerberus.

"This one has an M-22 Eviscerator shotgun, like the ones we got from Cerberus" Garrus noted. "They violate certain weapon treaties, so no militaries use them. As far as I know, only Cerberus equips agents with them."

"I knew it," Jack said. "My hunches are never wrong."

"They must have been trying to steal the Normandy—take advantage that it was empty, like Miranda said. I'm glad we got here when we did," Garrus said.

"What now?" Grunt asked.

"This changes nothing, we proceed as planned. Kasumi and I will try and hack into the docking bay controls. You two, keep on alert in case more Cerberus shows up. It probably won't happen, but if any C-Sec arrive, don't kill them; it wouldn't look good for Shepard if any C-Sec die during his escape."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Jack asked.

Joker spoke up through the communicator, "How about you and Kasumi distract them by stripping down to bra and panties for a tickle fight?"

Kasumi laughed at his comment, but Jack said, "How about me and you get into a _real_ fight, glass-bones?"

"Ouch…" Kasumi said.

. . .

The gate of metal bars rattled loudly as it slid to the side, granting entrance to one of the jail's wings. Numerous prison cells lined the entire length of the area now before Tali. She knew that this was the wing where Shepard was kept; inside one of these cells he was waiting, completely unaware of his impending salvation.

"Just down this way, ma'am," one of the two C-Sec officers said as they continued forward, "Almost there. He's near the end." The gate automatically closed behind them. The sound of its locking mechanism clasping as it closed was loud, and resonated in the quiet wing. Once the echo faded, their footsteps became the only noise that was heard.

Tali had tried to acquire schematics of the jail before her mission began, but they proved impossible to find in the short time she had available. Since arriving and being escorted through the jail, she had been carefully paying attention to as much of the layout of the building as she could. Pass that initial security gate there had been a long hallway, with numerous doors on each of its side; entrances to C-Sec offices, interrogation rooms, staff locker rooms, and even an armory. She had also passed some elevators which granted access to the other levels of the C-Sec facility. Those other levels did not concern her.

At the end of that first long hallway was a small room, which served as a reception area to the jail section of the department. Past it was another, shorter hallway that finally connected to the jail. She knew she had finally reached the jail when greeted by a gate of metal bars, which served as checkpoints throughout the jail, separating the major sections. Tali observed that the lead turian of her escort unlocked them—as well as all doors—by using his omni-tool.

The first area she had entered of the jail was a type of large hub, two stories tall. A sectioned-off cafeteria took up most of it on one side, but there were various entrances throughout. Most appeared to be to lead to other wings, but she also noted entrances to the recreation area and the infirmary. The infirmary entrance was a pair of thin, dual doors designed to easily swing open in either direction, and they were located next to the entry of the hall she had been led through, as they continued to progress. After passing another door and making a turn, she finally reached the gate that led into the jail wing that she was now in.

As they walked, she noted that the wing seemed completely empty. She casually mentioned, "Doesn't seem like you guys have much of an overpopulation problem."

One of the officers stated, "Not a lot of crime here on the Presidium."

The walk down the wing felt like an eternity, but finally, what Tali most wanted to see finally came into view. Shepard sat on the bed of his jail cell, behind a wall of bars, already looking out in their direction, curious about the footsteps. He immediately jumped out of his bed upon seeing Tali.

He approached and placed his hands on the bars. With a look of utter confusion, he asked, "It's great to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"I'm you're defense advocate, Shepard," she said.

Upon hearing her response, his faced transformed from surprised-confused, to amused-confused.

"My defense advocate? What? Since when do you know anything about—"

"Of course I am, Shepard!" Tali immediately interrupted him, afraid that he would blow her cover, "I know everything I need to know to get you through your trial; I've studied law for years. Trust me, you'll go free thanks to me." She put extra emphasis on her last sentence, hoping he'd get the hint.

_Keelah, I love him, but he can really be dense sometimes!_

Shepard wasn't quite sure what Tali was up to. The possibility that she was here to break him out crossed his mind, but he immediately dismissed it_. How could she break me out by herself? It would be impossible._ Nevertheless, he could tell she was planning something that relied on the guards believing she was his advocate, so he played along. "Oh… Oh! Sorry," he laughed, as if embarrassed, "I got mixed up. I thought you were somebody else. The masks—they make it hard to identify quarians. You're Tali'Zorah right? The advocate I assigned?"

_At least he catches on quick… I can't wait to get him out of here and kiss him again._

"That's right," Tali happily responded. She turned to the lead officer. "Open the cell, please. I have much I need to discuss with my client." She held up her datapad in sync with her words.

"Very well, one moment," the officer replied. He held up his omni-tool before the electronic lock of the gate, and typed a few commands. The locking mechanism released, and the door automatically began to slide open.

"Thank you, officer," Tali calmly said. Then, in a sudden and swift movement, she reached behind her back and slipped her hands under the purple fabric, pulling out the two stun guns. Before the guards even noticed, she brought them up to the side of their necks and fired. There were two flashes of light and loud crackles from the electrical shocks. The two turians dropped to the ground as their nervous systems were instantly overwhelmed by the sudden jolt of electricity. They groaned on the floor, almost unconscious and completely incapacitated.

"Holy—!" Shepard shouted in surprise, "Tali, what are you doing?" he said, taken aback by her sudden attack.

"What does it look like, you bosh'tet?" Tali replied as she stepped forward and gave him a quick hug. "I'm getting you out of here. We planned it all out. Come on, we don't have time!" She quickly handed a stun gun to Shepard, as well as one of the two flash bangs.

"Tali, there's no way we'll make it out of here with just these," Shepard said.

"We also have these," Tali said as she pulled back her hood, reached behind her helmet, and pulled out the two tactical cloak generators. She clipped one to her suit and handed the other to Shepard.

"Damn. How did you sneak all this stuff in?"

"I'll tell you when we're out," Tali answered as she grabbed the omni-tool from the lead turian; it could be used to easily unlock the gates throughout the jail.

Shepard and Tali then proceeded to run down the corridor of the empty wing. Shepard laughed and said, "This plan is so crazy. Who the hell came up with it?"

"I did," Tali answered in a slightly smug way, "And it'll work. You can thank me once we're free."

"Hey, I wasn't complaining. Like Wrex once said, 'Sometimes crazy is the best way to go.'"

. . .

"Mordin, bring the crew to the ship," Garrus urgently said over the communicator. "Tali just freed Shepard. We need to go, and soon!"

After his command, Garrus went back to working on his omni-tool. No Cerberus or C-Sec had shown up since they arrived, but things had not been going smoothly. Both Kasumi and him were busily trying to figure out a way to free the Normandy, but so far, they had had little success in hacking into mechanical docking bay arms that kept the ship firmly in place. Kasumi worked at a nearby computer terminal, while Garrus worked on his omni-tool, next to her.

Jack approached and said, "If she's gotten Shepard out of his cell, why aren't we on our way already? What's the hold up?"

"They have this thing locked down tight," Kasumi replied with her eyes glued to her screen, as her fingers quickly danced on the virtual keyboard. "It's a real challenge to do this from a mere public terminal."

"As far as we can tell," Garrus added, also keeping his attention focused to his omni-tool, "the signal keeping the Normandy grounded is being sustained from some C-Sec network. We may not be able to override the command. That's why I'm trying to hack into the power controls of the docking bay and cut power to the couplers. I really thought that freeing the Normandy would be easier than this."

The crew had arrived and were now crowded near the airlock entrance, being careful not to cross the holographic police line. Mordin walked over to Garrus and Kasumi, also curious over their current status. Grunt approached as well.

"Something wrong?" Mordin asked, "If Tali'Zorah freed Shepard, we need to move. Can't be late for pickup."

"I know, I know—believe me," Garrus responded, frustrated. "We're having some trouble disabling the couplers."

"You've been trying to hack those things since we got here," Grunt scoffed. "It's taking too long!"

Garrus kept his attention focused on his omni-tool, but he responded, "If you can think of a way to free the Normandy, then be my guest."

Grunt glanced over at the two mechanical arms that stretched out from the docking bay, keeping the Normandy fixed in place by way of the magnetic couplers at their end. "I'll get us out of here," Grunt said, and walked away, back in the direction of the Normandy crew.

Aside from a minor scoff and shake of his head, Garrus completely ignored Grunt, staying focused on his hacking. Suddenly, an alarm started to sound from the C-Sec holographic police line emiters. Garrus looked up, and saw that Grunt had crossed it, and was running into the Normandy.

"Grunt!" Garrus yelled, "What are you—_son of a bitch_! Damn it. Everybody, get in the Normandy! Take your stations! Now we _really_ need to hurry!"

"Why do you think he did that?" Kasumi asked, briefly looking up from the terminal.

"Because he's an idiot, and thought it would be fun to alert _every single C-Sec officer_ on the Citadel."

The entire crew entered the Normandy, and were proceeding to take their places within. Just then, Grunt emerged from airlock, and in his hands he held Shepard's M-100 Grenade Launcher, taken from the armory. Garrus glanced at him for a second, looked back down at his omni-tool, then immediately looked back up in a double take, realizing what he had seen.

He urgently said, "Wait, what are you—whoa!"

With sudden, repeated _thoomps,_ grenades rapidly flung out of the large weapon in Grunt's hands, each leaving a faint, smoky trail over the path of their trajectory before impacting the first mechanical arm of the docking bay, powerfully exploding on impact. Grunt fired at the joint in the middle of the arm, knowing that joints were always a weak spot. The docking arm managed to stay in one piece despite the bombardment, but the repeated explosions badly damaged it, bending it and causing the electrical wiring inside to explode in a brilliant fireworks display of electrical sparks. The first magnetic coupler lost power, and was now off-line.

"You'll blow a hole in the ship!" Garrus yelled.

Grunt ignored him and began to lob grenades at the second and final docking arm. "The ship can still fly with a hole in it!" he said, grinning; reveling in his reckless abandon.

After a series of more explosions, there was another flash of electrical sparks, and the last magnetic coupler went offline. The ship floated in place, now completely free.

"Easy," Grunt said as he strapped the grenade launcher to his back.

Garrus looked over the ship's hull, and was relieved to see that it hadn't suffered any damage. He awkwardly said, "Well… the ship's not damaged. But that was too risky. We could have figured out another way."

Grunt shrugged, "Why hack something when you can just blow it to pieces?"

. . .

"Past this door there's a corridor. We should activate our cloaks to run through it," Tali said. "You know, In case we run into someone, or if there are security cameras—damn it, I should have looked out for security cameras; it slipped my mind."

"Don't worry about it," Shepard said. "There is another problem though, once we cross the hall we'll be in the central hub of the jail. Our cloaks will need a recharge by then, and that area is the one place we absolutely need stealth."

"You're right… wait, I remember I saw the infirmary next to this hallway's entrance. Maybe we can hide in there to let our cloaks recharge?"

Shepard thought for a second, then said, "You're right, I remember seeing it too. That should work—not much that could threaten us in there."

"Alright, I'll get this door open, get ready!" Tali said, and raised her arm. Using the turian's omni-tool, she unlocked door before them. They both turned on their cloaking fields just before it opened, and ran down the hallway. They held each other's hands as they ran; a way to keep from getting separated, since they couldn't see each other. Sure enough, there was a small security camera above the door at the far end of the hall. Fortunately, Shepard and Tali were completely invisible, aside from the minor distortion and warping of light created by the cloak generators where their bodies should be. Their footsteps could clearly be heard, but thankfully, the hallway was currently empty.

They exited the hallway and found themselves in the jail's central area, but immediately turned, and ran into the infirmary, through its loosely swinging, dual doors. Just in time; their cloaks turned off as they entered, and they materialized back into view.

"I don't think anyone saw us," Shepard said, looking through the small window of one of the infirmary doors. "Once the cloaks recharge we can—"

"Who are you? Where did you come from!" was suddenly heard shouted from the other side of the infirmary. It was a salarian physician. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, as he emerged from behind a curtained-off section at the end of the infirmary.

"Shh!" Shepard immediately tried to shush him, and said, "We'll go, just give us a second—"

"You're escapees! Guards! Guards!" the doctor started to yell.

Tali immediately shot him with her stun gun. Since the projectile was slow moving and charged with a high voltage of static electricity, it was clearly visible as a quickly moving orb of light. With a sudden, jerking spasm, the salarian dropped to the ground.

"Good call," Shepard said with a smirk, and turned back to look out the window. A group of officers were starting to quickly walk in the direction of the infirmary, from the other side of the large, central room.

"Damn it, we're going to have some company soon."

"That voice!" a deep, strangely familiar voice growled from behind the curtains, where the salarian had earlier emerged from. A large figure appeared. It was a krogan, with his head covered in medical wrapping and with two glowing, cybernetic implants in place of his eyes.

"Oh _shit!_" Shepard yelled, "I thought I you were dead!"

It was the same krogan that Shepard had nearly killed earlier. "It's _you_! Rrrrraaaaaarr!" the krogan roared, and began to run toward Shepard and Tali.

Shepard fired his stun gun, as Tali's was still recharging. It impacted the charging krogan, and somewhat broke his stride, but it did not stop him. His secondary, fluid-based nervous system granted him a high tolerance to paralyzing effects.

"Let's get out of here!" Tali shouted. Both their tactical cloaks were now recharged, and they activated them just as they ran out. They pushed through the swinging doors and almost crashed right into the group of C-Sec officers, which were now just outside, but they managed to dodge them and swerve around them.

The officers were taken aback by the doors swinging open, seemingly by themselves. But just before they could realize what had happened, the doors flew open again—this time much more intensely—as the krogan smashed through, ramming into them.

"Where are you?" the krogan yelled as he rampaged through the officers, knocking them over while at the same time, completely oblivious to them. "You can't hide from _me!_"

Shepard and Tali just ran to the other side of the area, toward the locked, metal bar gate that would lead them back to the front of the entire complex. As they ran, the station-wide alarm started to blare. They didn't know if it was because C-Sec had learned of Shepard's escape, or because of the rampaging krogan behind them, busy with the multiple officers attempting to take him down. Either way, every officer in the station was now on alert. They had to be quick.

Shepard briefly looked back as they neared the gate, and saw that the Krogan was finally getting subdued by the officers, and thankfully, won't be a further problem. The two of them then reached the gate, and down the short hall past it was the jail reception area, where a small group of officers were approaching. "Look away!" Shepard said to Tali as he tossed his flash bang through the metal bars at them. Both of them averted their eyes just as the grenade exploded with a superbly bright flash and loud _bang_ sound. Even though it detonated several meters ahead of them, their ears still rang from the blast.

Tali quickly unlocked the gate just as their cloak faded, and they ran through the crowd of disoriented officers, who were stumbling around in a blind, confused sate. They soon found themselves in the long hallway that eventually connected to the front lobby of the station. A turian officer ran out of the nearby armory door, but Shepard immediately shot him with his stun gun. Tali recognized the turian as the same one who had been guarding the gate earlier. She felt both amused, and sorry for him, as he collapsed onto the floor.

"In here!" Shepard said as they ran into the armory. "We can let our cloaks recharge."

Through the overhead speaker system, they suddenly heard a warning. _"Escapees, officers are now authorized to use deadly force. Surrender immediately and peacefully."_

"That doesn't sound good," Shepard said.

Tali spoke into her communicator, "We're not far from the entrance, but things are heating up. What's it look like up front?"

It was Thane who replied, "I have a clear view. There's a group amassing in the lobby. They're going to block you from escaping."

Miranda added, "If you're near the front, we can use our biotics to neutralize the officers without killing them."

"Alright, do it," Tali said, "We'll be out very soon!"

As soon as Tali ended her call, Shepard enthusiastically said, "Look what I found." Tali turned to him and saw that he held a large, collapsed, black and gray rifle in his hands. It took her only a split second to recognize it. It was an HMWAM anti-material rifle, the same type that Shepard had seen at the requisitions office two weeks ago, that he wanted as a replacement for the M-98 Widow he had left behind on the Collector Base, but couldn't afford. Shepard was smiling as he held it.

She almost couldn't believe that he bothered with such a thing at a time like this. Almost. "Shepard, this isn't the time—oh forget it," Tali said, "Our cloaks are recharged, let's go."

"Right," Shepard said as he strapped his new weapon over his shoulder with a gun strap he had grabbed from a nearby shelf. "Throw your flash bang down the hall and we'll make a run for it."

She did as Shepard said, and they ran out after enabling their cloaks again. Sure enough, there had been a few officers in the hall, blocking the path, who were now all disoriented and temporarily immobilized by the stun grenade. They ran past them, and reached the end of the hallway, where on its side was the entrance that led to the front lobby of the station. Inside was a large group of C-Sec, guns drawn, pointing right at the entry to the hallway. Shepard and Tali had some seconds left on their cloak—enough time to run past without being seen—but as they entered the lobby a red light flashed and a loud alarm sounded. It was the security gate, and like Thane had earlier said, it would not be fooled by tactical cloak. Tali had completely forgotten about it.

_Bosh'tet!_

"Stay right there!" an officer yelled, loudly and intensely, "Cloaks off or we'll open fire! Cloaks off!"

Shepard and Tali abruptly stopped and stood in place. They quickly disabled their cloaks as instructed, and held up their hands, dropping their stun guns. They both let out a disappointed sigh of defeat. They couldn't believe they had been caught. They were _so_ close to escaping, the front entrance was right—

Miranda and Jacob suddenly ran in through the front entrance, their bodies pulsing with biotic energy as they let loose on the group of officers. Instantly, all the officers were either floating helplessly through the air, or being tossed like ragdolls. Shepard and Tali immediately recommenced running, heading toward Miranda and Jacob. They all ran out the door together.

"We're out and we got Shepard!" Miranda quickly said into her communicator, "We need a pickup, now! Thane, where are you?"

"Above you," Thane responded, as he landed right behind the group as they ran by. He had been on top of one of the Presidium trees, near the C-Sec station, where he had a good view through the scope of his sniper rifle. As soon as he landed, he threw a biotic push, which stopped a small group of officers that were just now attempting to leave the station in pursuit of them.

"Thanks for the jailbreak," Shepard said to the group, as they all ran parallel to the Presidium lake, toward a bridge that stretched over it. While rapidly approaching the bridge, Shepard said, "What now, though? How are we going to get out of here? I heard something about a pickup—"

A loud blast, high above, both interrupted Shepard and answered his question. They all looked up at the source of the noise, and saw a large explosion erupting from the artificial sky of the Presidium. A large section of the holographic sky distorted for a split second before suddenly disappearing. Various metal plates and structural beams began to fall from the sky.

"Get under the bridge!" Shepard yelled. They all ran under it as the various metal debris fell nearby, mostly into the lake, sending huge, white plumes of water roaring up into the air. After a brief interval the water fell back down as an intense rain. The team was still under the bridge, but water poured all around them on both sides of it. Thane held his hand over his mouth and nose to avoid breathing in the moisture.

Amid the intensity of the moment from both the falling structural debris and the pouring water, Shepard noticed something peculiar fall near them. It was smooth, wet, and silvery; glistening as it flopped up and down on the wet Presidium grass. Shepard looked at it with a confused expression. "That's… a fish," he mumbled, "That bastard groundskeeper lied to me."

Perplexed, Tali asked, "What the _hell_ are you talking about, Shepard?"

"Nothing—don't worry about it."

The roaring of the Normandy's engines filled the air as it rapidly descended from the Presidium sky, positioning itself between the bridge and the C-Sec station. Trees cracked and snapped against the Normandy's thick, metal underbelly as it steadily lowered, getting into place low enough to the ground so that the team could enter through its cargo hold. There were some C-Sec officers on the opposite side of the ship, but they had all stopped in their tracks in the presence of the large, powerful frigate. They stared at it in awe, knowing their weapons were utterly useless against the vessel. No one had ever seen anything like it: _a frigate hovering inside the Presidium!_

Once the ship was low enough, the entire team ran out from under the bridge and jumped into the cargo bay door. "We have to leave, pronto! They're closing the Citadel!" Joker said through the Normandy's internal announcement system. They were astonished to hear that the Citadel was actually being closed in an effort to keep them from escaping.

Now with Shepard, Tali, Miranda, Jacob, and Thane were all safely inside, the Normandy ascended to escape through the large hole it had carved in the Presidium's sky. They were all overjoyed to be onboard the ship; Shepard especially wanted to cheer and shout for joy, but he knew it wasn't quite over yet. The ship still had to escape.

With the Citadel closing, which would leave it as an impenetrable, inescapable cylinder, Joker piloted the ship toward the distant top of Presidium Tower. Since it was located at the very center of the diameter of the Presidium, it would have the largest opening available for the longest time. It was their best chance to escape before the arms finished folding in and completely sealed up the entire superstructure.

"Based on the speed of the closing arms and our own velocity," EDI said to Joker, "We'll have an opening of no more than a few hundred—"

"I don't want to hear it!" Joker snapped, intensely looking at his vid display as he piloted the ship.

Shepard and the others from the Presidium ran toward the bridge of the ship, joining Joker and EDI. Upon seeing the display of the rapidly closing Citadel, Tali said, "Oh Keelah, we're not going to make it!"

"Yes we are! Hold on!" Joker said. The Normandy soared up toward the center of the great Citadel ring. After a sharp turn, it flew past the very top of the Presidium Tower.

"See you later, you sons of bitches!" Joker shouted in excitement, extending his middle finger in the direction of the bridge's side window, toward Presidium Tower—toward the Council—as they zoomed past it. It was impossible for them to see the gesture, but that didn't make it any less satisfying. The Citadel was now nearly completely closed, but the Normandy managed shoot out through the tiny remaining opening just seconds before it closed.

Everyone aboard the ship cheered and shouted in celebration; everybody from the group in the bridge, to the crew in the CIC, to the engineers down on the fourth deck. They had done it. Before them now was the great vastness of space, and behind them, the rapidly shrinking cylinder that the Citadel now was.

Finally and decidedly concluding their grand escape, the Normandy jumped into the safety of FTL travel.

Now able to relax, Joker sighed loudly. He turned to Shepard, and happily asked "Where to, Commander?"

Shepard smirked, and answered, "The Perseus Veil."


	31. Home

_**Home**_

"Hey Commander," Joker's voice announced overhead.

"Yes Joker?" responded Shepard from where he stood in front of the large holographic display of the CIC.

"I think you may want to look at the Citadel News channel. They're having an interview with Udina. They're talking about you."

"Thanks, I'll check it out," Shepard said. "This should be good…" he mumbled to himself.

"I'll put it up for you," said Tali, who was standing at the terminal to the left of Shepard. In a few seconds, the star charts of the Perseus Veil that Shepard had been studying disappeared, and in their place came the Citadel News feed. Udina was speaking.

"—_not just among humanity's citizens, but all people that live within Council Space. Make no mistake—the ramifications of Shepard's actions affects us all."_

"Here we go," Shepard mumbled with a tired sigh. Tali couldn't help but giggle.

The camera then cut to the interviewer, who Shepard immediately recognized; it was Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani. "Not _her—_I can't stand that woman! How did she even get an interview with Udina?" Shepard exclaimed.

Tali laughed, "Why? Who is she?" Tali had never actually met the snide, disingenuous reporter. The first time Shepard was interviewed by her was just before they had even met, and the second time was before Tali had rejoined Shepard's crew.

"Long story," Shepard said, and they continued watching.

"_Well said, Councilor," Jilani stated. "Some have speculated that former councilor Anderson's resignation was due to a conflict of interest. It is well known that he and Shepard served together in the Alliance. Some have even speculated that Anderson may have assisted Shepard during his escape. Can you comment on that?"_

"There she goes again with her insidious assertions!" Shepard angrily snapped, throwing his hand up in a dismissing motion.

"_Anderson resigned for personal reasons," Udina quickly answered, "and I assure you, his decision had nothing to do with us detaining Shepard. After all, we did so only to question him in regards to his recent, suspicious activity that we discussed during the earlier press release. There's hardly anything objectionable with that._

"_If anyone actually is concerned over supposed 'back door politics' in play, I would like to remind those people that Anderson has already accepted the position as my personal advisor. So you see, all that really happened was a mere rearrangement of humanity's seat within the Council. One that will ultimately be of benefit not just to humanity, but all races within Council space. I have faithfully served as humanity's ambassador since former ambassador Anita Goyle retired. Anderson did a commendable job as Councilor, considering his lack of political expertise, but humanity deserves an experienced diplomat to serve as its Councilor."_

"I hope Anderson isn't watching this," Tali said. "He may punch Udina. Again."

_Jilani said, "During the press release, it was discussed that Shepard had been detained due to numerous concerns, among which were apparent connections to the geth and illegal AI. The Council has suggested that they fear he my attempt to follow in Saren's footsteps. Maybe even attack the—"_

_Udina spoke before she could continue. "There is no cause for concern over another full-scale geth attack upon the Citadel. We are taking far too many precautious for that to happen again. With that said, yes, the Council has grown concern over certain parallels Shepard now has with Saren, and we can't rule out the possibility that he may be working with the geth now. That is why we wanted to question him. The fact that he fled, and viciously assaulted a C-Sec facility in the process, can only confirm that our fears are true."_

Shepard rolled his eyes. Tali, under her mask, did so too. Eye rolling was not a gesture used by quarians, but it was one of the many human mannerisms and gestures that she had picked up from the predominantly human crew of the Normandy. Others included winking (in front of Shepard anyway) and—much to Shepard's annoyance, for reasons she didn't know—using air quotes to put emphasis on a particular word in a sentence. Earlier she had observed Joker extend his middle finger toward the window during their escape, although she was not familiar with the meaning of that gesture.

"_Truly a frightening thought," Jilani stated. "I have interviewed Shepard in the past, and my journalistic instinct always told me something about him wasn't quite right. Still, it's difficult to imagine how someone like him could follow the same path as Saren."_

"_It's not difficult to imagine at all, miss al-Jilani," Udina responded in the calm, somewhat smug tone that politicians like him often spoke in to demonstrate assertiveness. "Let's not forget Saren himself. He too was once like Shepard. A respected Spectre of the Council—the most effective and famous of his peers. Much like Shepard, he was the pride of the Citadel, known and feared throughout the galaxy._

"_When Shepard hunted Saren, he became better acquainted with him; he came to understand the most intimate details of Saren's elaborate deception of the geth. He came to see just how close Saren had come to success, and that is what twisted Shepard. As the old saying goes: 'Be careful when you fight monsters, lest you become one."_

Shepard just laughed. He wanted to be angry, but everything Udina said was wrong on so many levels, that laughter was the only logical response. "You better stay away from me, Tali. Didn't you hear? I'm a monster. Roar."

_Udina said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going. I have a meeting scheduled soon."_

"_Of course, Councilor. Thank you for your time, I understand how valuable it is," Jilani said. She then looked right at the camera and said, "This is Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, Westerlund News, signing off."_

_The vid then changed to the anchor woman for Westerlund News, a relatively attractive, middle aged woman with blonde hair. Looking right at the camera, she said, "We have recently learned that the Council his approved of an **eight million** credit reward for information leading to Shepard's arrest. This reward does not apply to just residents of Citadel Space, but to anyone, even residents of the Terminus Systems as well. We are urged to remind our viewers, however, that you should under no circumstances attempt to apprehend Shepard or any of his crew. If you see him, alert the proper authorities. Shepard and his co-conspirators are all heavily armed and considered extremely dangerous."_

The News cut to a commercial, and Tali turned off the news feed.

"Hm. Eight million huh? Seems kind of low," Shepard flatly stated.

Overhead, Joker said, "D'you hear that, Commander? I bet suddenly you're not feeling too bad that Zaeed's not here. Because… damn. Eight _million_."

"Very funny. But I'm pretty sure as a 'co-conspirator' he wouldn't be eligible." Shepard responded. "How much longer until we reach the Tannhauser Relay, by the way?" he asked, referring by name to one of the infamous mass relays that connected to geth space.

"We'll be there in about four hours."

. . .

As the time for the Normandy to pass through the Tannhauser relay approached, Tali found herself in feeling what could only be described as an unstable mix of nervousness, excitement, and uncertainty. It was the same feeling she had had back when her relationship with Shepard had commenced, years ago on the original Normandy.

Negotiating with the geth was something no one had ever been done before, but the possibility of finding a peaceful way to reclaim her peoples' lost home seemed very real. Her excitement was nearly palpable; it seemed too good to be true. At long last, her people would be able to live in a place made of air, water, and earth; a great contrast to the confined metal bulkheads of their flotilla. The quarian peoples' plight of being forced to live in the flotilla was analogous to the life of an individual quarian forced to live in a suit. Like the suit to an individual, the flotilla to the entire race was both a prison, and the key to life.

But despite that excitement, there was a great deal of uncertainty and fear. If these negotiations failed, whether because Legion deceived them or failed to backup its memories when it self-terminated, then all hope would be lost. The only option left to reclaim the homeworld would be all out war, which could very well result in the extinction of the quarian race. Even if by some miraculous chance the quarians could triumph against the geth, the catastrophic loss of ships—from both the creators and the created—would leave the sapient life of the galaxy in severely weakened state against a Reaper invasion; an invasion that they were already incomprehensibly ill equipped for.

"Not long now. About half an hour left." Shepard said. He and Tali were in their cabin. She had her helmet off, but the rest of her suit was on.

Tali didn't say anything.

"Excited?" Shepard asked with a smile.

"Yes. No—I'm not even sure. I'm a wreck—I'm so nervous. I'm excited, but so afraid. I can't believe we're finally going to try and contact the geth."

Shepard just looked at her.

Tali continued, "I mean, this… this could be it. If all Legion told us is true, then this may be the day my people get their homeworld back. This is like—there's nothing I can even compare this to. Keelah."

Shepard said, "Don't forget, even if the geth do allow your people to return home, that'll just be one half of the equation. Your people need to want to have peace, too. I remember back on the flotilla some people seemed determined on going to war with them. That was Han'Gerrel's stance, after all."

"I don't think it's war he really wants; just like it's never been what I really wanted. What him, me, and my father have always wanted was just our homeworld back. The same is true for every quarian. But all this time we've assumed that the geth would never let us back—that war was the only possible way to get our home back. If we can prove to them—to the admirals—that the geth will let us back without a conflict… I can't imagine any of my people _wanting_ war in that case."

Shepard sat down on the reclined chair that was to the left of their bed. He said, "I have to tell you, I'm not particularly looking forward to speaking to them."

"The admirals? Why? Because of last time?"

"Sort of. Between your trial and what happened to me with the Council, I've realized I'm not very good at dealing with people like them. You know, political big shots." He laughed quietly, in a scoffing way, "I mean, come on—I got you exiled for treason, and then I got myself thrown in jail for it, too. That's a pretty bad track record."

Tali approached and got on the seat with Shepard, scooting very closely to him due to the limited space. She rested her head on his chest. She sighed, and spoke in a saddened voice, "I know you still blame yourself for what happened at my trial, but I wish you wouldn't. I can't tell you how much it saddens me to hear you say you were responsible. You weren't, Shepard—you _weren't_." She lifted her head up and looked at him. "I really do believe that everything turned out as well as possible. Please stop blaming yourself. It makes me sad."

Shepard tenderly stroked Tali's cheek. He said, "You know there's nothing I want less than to make you sad."

She kissed his lips softly. "Then no more blaming yourself for my exile from now on. Never again. Okay?"

Shepard smiled. "Okay."

"I've heard that before. This time I want you to promise."

"I promise, Tali."

She gave him another kiss and then rested her head on his chest again. Her hand rested on his face, and slowly stroked up and down his jaw line. Shepard hadn't shaved in about two weeks, so he had a short beard. She stroked the bristles of his facial hair in a playful way.

"You know, I've always found it… interesting, how human males can grow hair on your face like this. It doesn't happen with quarians. It's so… strange, and exotic. It's alien."

Shepard chuckled quietly. "Is that so? I haven't felt like shaving recently. But if it bothers you I can get rid of it."

"Actually… I kind of like it…" she said and smiled, looking at his eyes. "Although it does tickle a little when we kiss."

"Just when we kiss?" Shepard said with a smirk.

Tali smiled shyly and lightly hit his chest.

"You know, we have some time before we reach geth space…" Shepard hinted.

"Keelah, Shepard, in that all you think about?" Tali said as she stood up. Shepard just chuckled and looked at her.

"I'll tell you what," Tali said, her voice suddenly shifting to a soft, playfully sensual tone. "Get my homeworld back, and then we'll talk."

She winked.

. . .

With a flash of blue-shifted energy, the Normandy dropped out of FTL and approached the massive Tannhauser Relay. At a distance of thousands of kilometers, the relay looked small. But it rapidly grew in size as they approached. It never ceased to amaze Joker just how large the relays were up close.

"We'll be passing through in a few seconds," Joker said. Shepard, Tali, Garrus, and Miranda were standing at the Normandy's bridge behind him.

"Take us in Joker," Shepard said. His eyes looked out through the bridge Window at the relay's pulsing element-zero core. The core didn't actually pulse; it was an illusion created by the rings that spun around it.

As the Normandy approached, the rings began to spin faster. In a short moment, they would instantly be transported inside the opaque nebula that was the Perseus Veil. They would soon be in geth space; a part of the galaxy that few people ever return from.

"You know, the geth aren't exactly too welcoming of houseguests," Joker said. "Should I enable stealth systems after passing through?"

"No," Shepard responded. "That can be interpreted as a hostile action. We need to make ourselves known. They know who I am. If they recognize the Normandy, they won't be hostile towards us. Probably."

"Probably?" Garrus asked with feigned concern.

"We're passing through. Hang on!" Joker said.

The mass relay shifted its position, aiming toward the relay it connected to within the Perseus Veil. The rings around its intensely glowing core where now spinning at an incredible speed. Streams of energy flashed and arched around the core as the Normandy approached and flew parallel to its length. With an intense flash light, a massive bolt of energy struck the ship, instantly propelling it thousands of light years within a mass-free tunnel connecting to the linked relay inside the Perseus Veil. The Normandy was now inside geth space; the part of the galaxy that had once belong to Tali's people.

"We're here." Joker said, relaxing at his chair, now that the precise navigation demanded by a relay jump was over. "Is there like, a doorbell we should ring, or something?"

Shepard said, "Approach the Tikkun System. Stay in sub-FTL speeds. Make sure weapons are offline, but keep kinetic barriers at maximum.

"Aye aye."

"EDI, keep all communication channels open. Make sure you're ready against any cyber attacks."

"I am always ready, Shepard," EDI responded.

"You tell'em girl," Joker said.

"Wait, so this is our plan?" Miranda said, "We just fly around and wait for the geth to find us?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Shepard asked. "EDI doesn't know the precise channels that the geth use. We need to wait for them to make first contact."

"I don't like this. Despite what Legion said, I still don't fully trust the geth."

"Anything can happen. That's why we're taking precautions. If by some chance we're attacked, we'll initiate stealth and get the hell out of here. Geth don't use windows—so stealth guarantees they can't catch us. In theory."

Shepard walked over to the navigator's seat on the right side of the Normandy bridge and sat down. Tali approached and stood next to him. Her hip lightly pressed against his left arm, while her hand rested on his shoulder, holding onto it.

A few minutes passed. Shepard looked up at Tali and said, "How long do you think until they know we're here?"

"They've probably been aware to our presence since we—"

"Commander!" Joker interrupted, "We're being hailed. It's... them."

Shepard immediately jumped out of the seat. "Here we go," he half whispered, half mumbled, then took a deep breath and said, "Open the channel. This is it, everyone. History is about to happen."

_I hope._

Tali stood close to Shepard. Her excitement and nervousness was at an all time high. She badly wanted to hold Shepard's hand and squeeze it, but she knew she couldn't possibly distract him in any way. So instead, she held her own hands together, wringing her fingers. It was a gesture she did while nervous and uncertain; one that she hadn't felt the need to do in a long time.

A few seconds passed after Joker established the communication link. They felt far longer than they really were, but finally, a voice was heard. The voice was similar to Legion's synthesized speech, but different in certain ways. It was deeper; reminiscent of the voices used by Sovereign and Harbinger, but not nearly as aggressive. It also seemed to resonate within itself, as if it were echoing in a small, enclosed room. It sounded like countless individuals were speaking at once, but in near perfect unison.

"Normandy-Frigate. Vessel of Shepard-Commander."

Shepard responded, "That is correct—this is Commander Shepard. Is this the geth collective I'm speaking with?"

There was a short delay, as the billions of geth programs communicated with one another, each analyzing the simple question and generating an appropriate response. "Yes."

"I know that the geth are very defensive over their territory. Thank you for speaking with us. I'm glad to finally meet you."

There was another short delay. "We have already met."

Shepard thought for a moment before responding; he knew the meaning of their response. "Do you say that because Legion has rejoined the geth collective?"

As always, a short delay as a response was compiled. "Yes. The 1183 programs you have labeled 'Legion' have rejoined our network. All data recorded on their mission has been uploaded. We know everything they knew. We have experienced everything they did. All viewpoints are considered. We are Legion. We are geth."

Shepard said, "Then you know why I am here. I'll get straight to the point. The Reapers—the 'Old Machines'—are a threat to all of us. If we are to stand any chance against them, we all need to be unified. There needs to be peace between the geth and the quarians, and the only way I feel that can happen is if the quarians are allowed to return to their world."

"We have no animosity toward the creators. Yet they do have animosity toward us. Organic life act on emotions. We do not judge them, but we believe that they would be a threat to us if allowed into our space. Organics fear what they don't understand. It is a hardware error. The creators created us, but they do not understand us. They fear us."

Tali felt déjà vu as she heard the geth collective. Their words sounded very similar to what Legion had once told her.

"It is not a hardware error," Shepard said. "Organics all come from worlds where all life struggle to exist among thousands of other species. Our fear is a defense mechanism to protect us from the unknown. But you are correct; the quarians don't truly understand you. No organics do."

"We believe you do, Shepard-Commander."

"That is because Legion made contact with me, and explained to me about the geth. That was the whole point in sending out a single mobile platform, was it not? To make contact with me, and attempt to communicate with organics?"

"Yes."

"Your plan worked, because here I am, on behalf of all organics. The whole galaxy thinks that the geth are our enemy. The quarians have no idea that you do not hate them. They are desperate for their world back, and they may one day attempt to wage war on you, believing it the only way to get their home back. I don't want that to happen, and I want to find a way to prevent it from happening."

"War is not a favorable outcome. We wish to avoid it if possible."

"It's not just unfavorable; it's simply not an option. We need the geth and the quarians at full strength against the Reapers. The quarians being allowed back to their world would be the best way to ensure peace."

"Creator-Tali'Zorah explained that Creator immuno system deficiency hinders colonization of new worlds. Rannoch provides highest compatibility with creator physiology. We understand the creator's desire to return."

Tali suddenly spoke up, before Shepard said anything. "Legion explained to me that the geth do not use my peoples' planet. That you neither live on it nor use it for resources."

"Correct. We are software; physical space makes no difference to us. We live on space stations. Planetary surfaces are primarily composed of rock; Silicon dioxide, aluminum dioxide, and other elements we have little need for. Planetary crust is inefficient for resource extraction. Conversely, asteroids are composed primarily of metals. Iron, nickel, iridium, platinum. They are efficient."

"If you have no need for it, would you be willing to let my people return?" Tali pleaded. "I know we can convince them that peace is possible—no one would want war if they just knew it wasn't necessary to return home."

There was an unusually long delay before the geth responded.

"Creator-Tali'Zorah. You were exiled from the creator fleet. Shepard-Commander is an outsider to them. It is unlikely that the creator collective will be persuaded that we are not hostile toward them."

It was Shepard who spoke this time, "Let Tali and I go to Rannoch. We'll collect soil samples; plant specimens, things like that. We can record environmental data and take holos, vids. The quarians will have records from before the war that they can compare against. All of this will give us irrefutable proof that we were on their homeworld—that your kind don't just blindly want to destroy organics. They'll be cautious, but I guarantee it'll pique their interest enough to send ambassadors to contact you."

There was another delay as the billions of geth programs built consensus.

"Your suggestion is logical. We will allow it. Proceed to creator homeworld. If peace is achieved, we will facilitate creator transition by moving our stations to another star system within the Perseus Veil."

That almost sounded too good to be true. Shepard had always feared even if the quarian race was at peace with the geth, there was always the possibility that a rogue quarian or group would refuse peace, and commit acts of terrorism against the geth. It was a very real possibility; one that could potentially shatter the long awaited peace between creator and created. If there were no geth presence in the immediate system at all; then the probability of a lasting peace increased dramatically. But—it _did_ sound too good to be true. He had to inquire.

"Would the geth really be willing to do that? Just... leave this planetary system? That seems like such a large inconvenience."

"'Inconvenience' is a state of mind; an emotion. We do not get inconvenienced. Programs controlling a mobile platform perpetually mining an asteroid feel no different about their task than any other geth elsewhere. We lose nothing by moving our stations to another one of our systems. We understand that Rannoch is a garden world; a planet capable of sustaining organic life. It is valuable to organic races. We have no need for it. We have no need to continue serving as its keepers once creators return."

"I see. That makes… sense. Legion had told me that the geth are working on a superstructure that will be capable of housing all geth programs. I'm guessing it's not in the Tikkun System? Something like that wouldn't be easy to move."

"Correct. When we commenced construction of our mega-structure 264 years ago, we did so anticipating it to last as long as our race. The geth and it will become one. Organics will always be unpredictable; it is in your nature. Our mega-structure is being constructed in a location not suitable for organics. Around an unknown star. In a system with no terrestrial planets or habitable moons. Organics will not interfere, and we will not interfere with organics."

"I understand." Shepard said, and noticed that Joker had already plotted a course to Rannoch. For just a moment, in an immeasurably small amount of time, Shepard's mind reflected on the significance of what their destination was; of what had just happened. "We're on our way to Rannoch. Once in orbit we will take a shuttle to the surface. Thank you for allowing us this opportunity. I don't know how well the geth understand organics, or how much our emotions impact us, but… this is going to mean a lot, to many people."

Shepard glanced over at Tali. She stood quietly and unmoving, seemingly staring into nothingness. She had her right hand on top of her left, which was on her chest, right above her heart. She had been standing in much the same way, ever since the mechanical, synthesized voice of the geth collective uttered those incredible words: "Proceed to Creator homeworld." Whatever happens when they meet the rest of her people and inform them of all that has taken place this day. Whether they are believed and heralded as heroes, or mocked and laughed out of the flotilla… the fact will be, that Tali will have stood on her world, and seen it with her own eyes. Rarely are desires so great ever fulfilled in the lifetime of an individual. But it will be for her, and nobody will ever take that from her.

"We have a request to make of Shepard-Commander," the geth collective said. "We wish to place another mobile platform aboard your vessel."

"You mean like a replacement for Legion?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. Observational data recorded by the previous mobile platform greatly furthered our understanding of organics. The replacement platform will be of comparable hardware. We would be grateful if we are allowed a continued presence aboard the Normandy."

"Another Legion would be definitely welcomed aboard," Shepard responded. "Where do we pick him up?"

"Dock with any station in orbit around Creator homeworld. The platform will be assembled and loaded with the appropriate software there."

"Got it. We'll be there in—" Shepard looked at Joker's navigational display, "one hour."

With that, the call with the geth collective was over. And in one hour, they would be in orbit around a planet that no organic eyes had seen in three hundred years.

. . .

High above the former quarian homeworld was the Normandy, docked with one of the massive geth space stations that orbited the planet. The station did not bear much resemblance to Heretic Station, the only other geth-occupied structure that the Normandy crew had ever seen. Unlike Heretic Station, which had originally been a long-abandoned quarian space station that the heretics renovated and made use of, this structure was a creation of purely geth design. It was somewhat reminiscent to a Mass Relay in shape, although oriented in a vertical fashion, and smaller at ten kilometers in length. The geth station continued the non-industrial, almost organic looking curvature common to geth designs. Bulges curved throughout the entire structure in various sections, like the exoskeleton of some enormous metal insect floating in space. Also present were two needle-like structures protruding out of each of its sides, at its vertical center. Communication antennas, each one as long as half the station's length.

"There you are," Tali said as Shepard stepped out of the elevator, and onto Normandy's cargo area. She continued speaking, in a fast, anxious, nervous voice, "Everything is all ready. I grabbed that backpack—you know, the dark green one from the crew storage locker that's water-proof and has all those extra pockets—and I filled it with glass jars and sealable plastic bags and other containers that I found in Mordin's lab and the Medical bay. But don't worry I made sure that they weren't needed for anything right now, I asked Mordin and Chakwas to be sure that they didn't need them right now for any—"

"Tali, you're blabbing," Shepard said, amused. He noted how jittery she was as they walked toward the shuttle.

"Oh… Sorry," she muttered, sounding embarrassed. "I'm just so excited right now. And, you know, I tend to talk a lot when I'm, um, like this."

They entered the shuttle and Shepard noted the backpack full of containers and jars that Tali had prepared. He also noted a sidearm in the bag's weapon holster, which he had suggested earlier to take as a precaution in case they ran into any predators or other hostile animals, although he suspected that was very unlikely to actually happen. They sat down in each of the opposite row of seats, facing each other.

"Joker," Shepard called out, "We're about to head out."

"Aye aye," Joker responded over the shuttle communication's system. "EDI's been talking with the geth. They're preparing that geth platform that they want on the crew. I guess he's like Legion—custom built. Either way, it's going to take them a few hours. Also, some good news: they're going to give us some supplies."

"That _is_ good news," Shepard said. "What kind of supplies?"

"Nothing we can eat obviously, but it looks like they're going to give us some ship fuel and—get this—shiny new _geth_ weapons! Gee, I hope the Council doesn't find out."

"Don't worry about it. If worse comes to worst, we'll just tell them it was all Tali's idea." Shepard looked at her with an amused smirk.

Joker played along, "You should have told them that from the beginning," and then said in a pretend, mocking voice, "It wasn't our fault, Councilors. It was the quarian—she masterminded the whole thing!"

"Oh be quiet, you two," Tali said, "Now come on. Let's go. Let's go!"

The cargo bay doors of the Normandy opened, and the Kodiak shuttle's thrusters and mass effect core initiated. It took off, and descended toward the world that the quarians once called home. Like all garden worlds, its surface was mostly ocean surrounding the brown and green landmasses, while clouds hovered just above, spiraling and wisping with the wind currents of its atmosphere. It could almost be confused for Shepard's own world, Earth, aside from the slightly greener glow of its atmosphere, which ranged from cyan to turquoise.

Tali was still noticeably excited. She said, "I've been so excited about this, it didn't even occur to me to ask… where exactly on the planet are we going?"

"According to EDI's scans, the entire planet is effectively in a 'natural state,' almost as if no one had ever lived on it. Whatever rubble or debris was left after the war, the geth have cleaned up. There are some anomalies scattered throughout; old ruins, some roads and highways, things like that. But it's all mostly been overgrown by vegetation."

Three-hundred years was a long time, and life doesn't stand still. Like the body of a living creature, a garden world is always striving to be in a state of homeostasis; of balance. With civilization gone, the fauna and flora of the world were quick to reclaim the land that was once theirs.

"But to answer your question," he continued, now smiling, "It's an area I picked out from EDI's scans. It's near the western coast of one of the continents, not far from the planet's equator."

_I know how much you love the ocean, _he thought_, and the sun will set there in a few hours. You've always been so fond of when we watched the sun set on Virmire together. I can only imagine how much seeing a sunset on your own world would mean to you._

Despite the importance of their visit to the planet, and what it could mean for not only the quarian people, but the entire galaxy in the inevitable Reaper conflict, Shepard was incapable of not being keenly aware of just how outstandingly special this moment was for Tali. He wanted it to be perfect for her. He purposefully avoided landing in an area that could have old quarian ruins; no need to remind her of that terrible conflict from centuries past.

But despite all that, there was also another, very specific reason he wanted everything to be as special and wonderful as possible for her. A reason that Tali did not expect; he had a surprise for her.

After a brief interval, Shepard pressed a small button next to the window, which brought down a metal shutter that completely sealed it, blocking all view of space beyond, and the atmosphere they would soon be entering.

"Why did you do that?" Tali asked.

"Don't you think it'll be more dramatic for our first glimpse of your world's surface to be as the door opens, and we step out?"

Tali let out a quick laugh, and her leg continued its jittering, as she nervously held her hands together. "Oh Shepard, how can you even care about that. Keelah, this is—I'm so… I still can hardly believe this is happening."

Shepard just kept looking at her, smiling. There was no need to say anything.

"This feels like…" Tali continued, "like… like when I saw you on Freedom's Progress. Something so unbelievable, that I kept telling myself 'this is a dream, it has to be.' I can't—I don't know how else to describe it."

"You don't need to describe it, Tali," Shepard said. "What's going to happen here is history. Let your peoples' historians worry about describing all this."

Tali nervously laughed again, and sunk back into quietness. The shuttle started to rumble lightly as it began to enter the first layer of the planet's atmosphere.

Shepard sunk into a deep thought for a short moment, then said, "Something occurred to me. Have you ever heard the phrase, 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind'?"

"I haven't. What is it?"

"They were the words spoken by the first human to ever step foot on Earth's moon… the very first human to ever walk on a different world. In the centuries since then, humans have been on countless other moons and planets. But, I think, none of those will ever be quite as special as our first baby step beyond our planet. Those words… those words he spoke, as he stepped onto the lunar surface—they will never be forgotten by my people. They will exist in our history and memory forever.

"I bring this up, Tali, because you're going to be the _very first_ person to walk on your planet since the geth war; you're going to be the first quarian to have returned home. And I'm going to record it all on vid with my omni-tool," he raised his now glowing omni-tool, "and the words you speak as you step foot on your planet's surface, and look out into the distant horizon, will go down in your peoples' history, forever. They will always be remembered."

A seemingly long period of time passed as she contemplated all Shepard had said. "I… hadn't thought of that," she quietly muttered, then exclaimed, "Oh Keelah! Keelah… why did you have to bring that up? As if I wasn't nervous enough—I, I have no idea what I'm going to say! Nothing at all! Please tell me you have a suggestion."

Shepard laughed, and thought for a moment. "How about: 'Hey Admiral Qwib Qwib—suck it, bitch'?"

"Be serious!"

Shepard got up and sat down on her side, right next to her. He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "You'll know exactly what to say when the moment comes. Don't worry about it—just relax, and enjoy this moment. I know this is something you've dreamed of all your life."

Tali took a deep breath and exhaled. She leaned against him and rested her head against his shoulder. She couldn't completely stop the tickling sensation in her stomach from the excitement of the moment, but she was now noticeably more relaxed. In the quiet lull that they both sunk into, Tali pondered what Shepard had said. He was right; this truly was something she dreamed of all her life. It was one of those dreams that a person allows oneself to lose themselves in, if only to have a taste of a great desire they know could never be fulfilled. And yet, here she was, about to see her dream manifest into reality. She couldn't wrap her mind around how lucky she was; she found herself feeling undeserving of such incredible fortune. And all this was thanks to Shepard. Despite all the danger and hardships in her life since she had met him, it had been the greatest time of her life. She knew that no matter how long she lived, and no matter what the future held, this phase in her life could never—

There was a sudden feeling of heaviness as the shuttle decelerated, followed by a sudden stop. The shuttle had landed. They were on the surface. The constant roar from the shuttle's engines faded, and was replaced by nothing; there was only silence inside the dimly lit interior.

Tali got up first, and turned to face the door, but stood in place. Shepard then got up as well, standing close to her. She took his hand and squeezed it tightly.

Shepard looked at her, as she stared out toward the shuttle door. He said in a soft, quiet, gentle voice, "Go on, my love. You're home."

She gave his hand one final squeeze, and let go. She approached the door.

Shepard raised his omni-tool and began recording, streaming the transmission to the Normandy, where the others could see history happen.

Tali pressed the button next to the door, and bright cracks of light immediately appeared all around the door as it began to open. As sunlight flooded the floor of the dim shuttle, before any of the surface could yet be seen, came the sound of singing birds, somewhere off in the distance. Tali's heart skipped a beat at the faint, far off music. It was the most beautiful and amazing noise she had ever heard.

The door swung open, revealing a bloom of bright light that quickly faded as their eyes adjusted, and finally the landscape of the lost world appeared before them.

The sky was clear, yet painted with the occasional wispy, stretched out cloud high above. Stretching before them was a savanna of golden, greenish tall grass, with small clusters of exotic trees scattered throughout. The plains terminated several miles away at the foot of a tall, rocky mountain range. Far into the distance, a gust of wind struck the plain, momentarily flattening the grass, and sending a faint cloud of pollen into the air, like a patch of earthen dandelions having their fine florets scattered into the wind.

Tali stood still as she gazed out at the splendor of her promised land. All signs of her previous anxiety now gone. She stepped forward, off the shuttle, and her feet landed on the soft soil below. Now, at last, after three hundred years a quarian stood on the planet of their origin. Her eyes stared out the landscape, too lost in awe to remember to blink. The countless different thoughts and emotions that ran through Tali's mind seemed to momentarily cancel each other out, and grant her a moment of calm lucidity amid the wonder of the moment; finally, she spoke. Her voice was quiet, yet clearly heard; it was full of wonder.

"After time adrift among open stars. Among tides of light and to shoals of dust. **We** have returned to where **we** began."

A full second passed, and she collapsed forward, landing on her knees. She bowed her head and held it in her hands, as she started to weep.

. . .

"What about this? Think we should take this?" Shepard asked after picking up a small, round piece of fruit from the ground. It was noticeably rotten and moldy.

"Ugh, why would we take that? We already got one of those fruits a while back. A _fresh_ one!" Tali replied.

"Yeah I know, but I figure maybe the quarian researches would be interested in the, uh, bacteria?"

"I'm sure there's plenty of native bacteria in everything we've already gathered."

Shepard shrugged and dropped the fruit. He wiped his hand on his pants, and continued walking with Tali. They had been on the surface for nearly two hours. Initially, they had stayed near their shuttle, and took samples of the grass, soil, as well as some leaves and twigs from a nearby tree. They also used their omni-tools to take vids and holos of the area, as well as record environmental data.

About an hour ago, they had begun to walk in the opposite direction of the distant mountains they saw upon landing, in the direction of the nearby coast. Now, the sky before them was starting to turn into a deep orange with pink glowing clouds, as the sun was nearing the horizon. A gentle, steady wind blew against them from the direction they walked in. Shepard recognized the smell of salty sea air, which came as no surprise, as saltwater oceans were a common staple of garden worlds.

"Speaking of bacteria," Shepard said, "I'm not, like, contaminating the world with my germs, am I?"

Tali giggled, and playfully said, "Oh no, Shepard! What have you done! You're right—You've rendered this world inhabitable now!"

Shepard laughed in response and said, "I take it that's a no."

"Any germs on you are levo chirality. They wouldn't be able survive on this world; there's nothing they can feed from."

The two continued walking. Shepard carried the backpack of jars and containers on his back, while Tali eagerly used her omni-tool to capture holos and vids of everything; bushes, trees, every single flower they encountered, and the occasional bird flying overhead.

"Oh look!" Tali excitedly said, pointing up at the branches of a nearby tree they were passing, "It's another one of those creatures—the 'squirrel things.'"

"Trust me, they do look like squirrels; I'll show you when we get back on the ship. These are a bit uglier though."

"I think they look adorable."

Tali raised her arm and took a holo of it as they walked by. The small, furry animal remained still on its branch, as it curiously stared at the bizarre, strange animals it had never seen before.

Shepard smiled. "Your omni-tool's going to run out of space if you keep taking a holo of everything we see."

"I can't help it," Tali replied, "I can't get over being here. This is just so incredible and beautiful. And besides, I have a few exas left—I don't think I'll run out of space."

"If you say so," Shepard said, and stopped walking; the rustling sound of his feet against the grass stopped. "By the way, do you hear that?"

Tali stopped as well, and listened carefully. There was a quiet, soothing hiss in the air; a type of distant roaring she instantly recognized. It was the ocean.

"I hear it," she happily said, and they continued walking.

"We're not far. Probably just over this next hill," Shepard said.

Sure enough, after walking up an elevation in the terrain, before them came into a view the ocean they had been anticipating. Gentle white waves appeared and faded as far as their eyes could see.

After collecting some water and sand samples, they sat on the sand by a tree and took a break. Shepard had his back to it, while Tali sat in front of him, leaning back against him. They both stared out at the ocean as the sunset approached.

They had both been quiet for a long time.

Tali said, "There was a time I hated how nice you were to me."

Shepard didn't react. Tali's voice was too relaxed for her to be bringing up something negative. He just waited for her to continue.

"Back before I knew how you felt about me," she continued. "I had such strong feelings for you, but I knew I couldn't be with you. I told myself, 'If he were rude to me and didn't treat me so well, I wouldn't feel like this about him.' But you were always kind, and I honestly hated it sometimes."

A short pause. "But… here I am—in your arms, sitting on a coast of my homeworld. I can't imagine anyone ever being so fortunate… I can't imagine this moment being any better."

Shepard's only reaction was to start reaching into one of his pockets, digging into it. Sounding somewhat distracted, he said, "I had no idea how I would do this, or even when. But I think this is about as perfect a moment as I'm going to get."

Tali had no idea what he was talking about as he pulled his hand out of his pocket and held something for her to see.

"What is this?" she asked as he showed her a small black box that opened up, revealing a shiny, circular piece of gold. "It looks like the finger jewelry I've seen female humans often wearing."

"Yes," Shepard said quietly, "We just call them 'rings.' I bought this one on the Citadel. It's customary for us to present one like this to the girl we want to ask to marry."

It took Tali a second to realize what had just happened, and when she did, it felt like her heart stopped. She looked right at Shepard.

"Will you marry me, Tali'Zorah?"

After a moment of complete speechlessness, all she could respond with was a loud "yes!" as she through her arms around him, lightly knocking him down to the warm sand beneath them.

It was the second time that day that Tali cried from happiness.


	32. They Had Old Souls

_**They Had Old Souls**_

"You keep staring at your ring," Shepard said, smiling. He and Tali were in the shuttle, flying back up to the Normandy.

"It's so beautiful. I've never had anything like it. I've always thought gold was a beautiful metal, but it's so rare on the flotilla. We only ever used it on the electronics that require its conduction properties."

"Did your people ever use gold for jewelry?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. I've seen old images and artwork depicting gold jewelry. Some of it was so extravagant," Tali answered. She looked at her ring again, which was on the third finger of her left hand, per Shepard's suggestion. "By the way, when are we going to... I mean, when is the... you know, wedding?"

"To be honest, I haven't thought of that," Shepard said and laughed to himself. "I really have no idea when or where. Part of me thinks we probably shouldn't until... all of this, is taken care of."

"Yeah, you're right," Tali responded. "But know that whatever is waiting for us in the future, I'm so happy about this. Whenever we do get married, I want it to be a day I can look up at the sky, knowing that there aren't any reapers up there."

Shepard smiled in reply, and Tali went back to admiring her ring. It wasn't much longer before the shuttle docked with the Normandy. Shepard grabbed the bag full of samples as they stood up and exited the shuttle.

Upon entering the docking bay, both were struck by a bizarre sight, one that instantly triggered a sudden sense of threat and danger. There was a geth colossus in the docking bay. It was deactivated and in its huddled in, collapsed form.

"Hey EDI..." Shepard said, his eyes glued to the colossus.

"Yes, Shepard?" EDI responded.

"I don't know if you noticed, but there _seems _to be a geth colossus in the docking bay."

"That is an auxiliary unit for the new Legion," EDI said. "It is only a hardware platform. Legion can transfer its software to it whenever we have need of its ground capabilities."

Shepard smiled. "Nice. That could come in handy."

"Where is Legion, anyway?" Tali asked. "I'm curious what it looks like now."

"Legion is currently on Deck 3, conversing with some crew mates," EDI answered. "Its hardware looks much the same as the old model, but with no large hole in its chassis."

Just then, Shepard saw something emerge that was a thousand times more unexpected than the geth colossus, and infinitely more terrifying. A turian on a geth glider, swooping towards them. Saren!

It was Garrus.

"Oh my god, Garrus," Shepard said as Garrus landed in front of him. "You scared the crap out of me—you looked like Saren there for a moment."

"Oh come on," he responded, stepping off the glider. "I know humans have a hard time telling us turians apart, but even with these scars I'm not _that _ugly."

Shepard looked down at the glider. "So the geth gave us one of these, too," he said as he curiously put his foot on it.

"As if the council doesn't think you're enough like Saren..." Tali said.

"I'll avoid flying around the Presidium with it," Shepard said, now standing on it. "How do I work this thing, anyway?"

"You don't," Garrus said. "At least not with those boots. You need mag-boots, otherwise... well, it can be a long way down."

"Good point. I'll try it out later."

The three began walking toward the elevator. Garrus asked, "By the way, how was it down there? I see you brought some samples, but did things go as _planned_?"

"See for yourself," Shepard said, smiling, as he lifted Tali's hand to show the ring.

"Wait, you knew he was planning this?" Tali asked Garrus.

"Of course I did," Garrus responded. "Asking a woman to be your mate is scarier than any suicide mission. You don't think Shepard would go on another one of those without having me watch his back, do you?"

The three laughed together as they reached the elevator.

. . .

The Normandy was on its way toward the Migrant Fleet. The trip was taking several days, given the fleet's location in a star system far from a mass relay. The rest of the crew had become aware of Tali and Shepard's engagement, and they were happy for them.

Shepard sat in the port lounge, conversing with Garrus and reflecting on recent events. There had been a lull in their conversation, which Garrus then interrupted.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

"Didn't give me much of a choice there, Garrus," Shepard said with a smirk.

"Very funny. I was wondering, and don't take this the wrong way, don't you think you proposed a little soon? You two haven't been together _that_ long. Many people go years before deciding whether or not to become a mated pair."

Shepard smiled slightly to himself, staring blankly out the window into space. A long enough time passed that Garrus found himself feeling uncomfortable. He was just about to say something—anything—when Shepard interrupted the awkward silence.

"I don't know. Maybe," Shepard said. "I like to tell myself that when you find the right one, you just know. But I suspect that everyone whose in love thinks that. Does that mean I can't trust my own feelings and thoughts? Hey... maybe that's what being indoctrinated is like."

Shepard paused a moment, then said, "Maybe it was too soon, but it doesn't feel like it to me. I've had to make some really tough decisions these last few years, Garrus. Who to save on Virmire; whether to trust Cerberus or not; destroy or salvage the collector base. And a thousand more. Rarely was I completely sure about any of them. But _this—_wanting Tali in my life, forever—this is different. This is something I _am _sure about."

After a brief pause, Garrus stood up and walked toward the bar. "Many people find mates in their lives, but only lucky sons of bitches that defy the odds find their true kindred spirits. And nobody defies the odds better than you, Shepard. This calls for a drink."

Shepard smiled. "I don't know what kind of ceremony Tali would want, but do you know anything about human marriages?"

"Not really, besides there being a large cake and some kind of big party for the groom prior to the wedding that tests infidelity," Garrus answered from the bar as he prepared some drinks. He then came back and handed a glass to Shepard. He mumbled to himself, "I hope I didn't get these mixed up..."

"Well, read up on them," responded Shepard. "You're going to be my best man."

"Best man? Me?" said Garrus as he sat back down. "I don't know what that means, but it sure sounds like me."

. . .

"There are the patrol ships," Joker said. "Like clockwork."

"You are entering a restricted area. Identify." The male quarian voice said over the Normandy's comm system. It was standard procedure for quarian navy patrols to confront any ship that got within a certain proximity to the Migrant Fleet.

"This is Commander Shepard of the Normandy. I have been to the flotilla before. I have important business to discuss with the admiralty."

There was a delay.

"We have sent your request to our superiors. Maintain your distance until noted otherwise."

"Understood," Joker said. "They seemed friendlier last time."

"Back then I had an authorization phrase that let us pass as soon as it was verified," Tali said. "Not so, now."

"How long do you think until they let us in?" Shepard asked.

"It could take a while. An admiral's authorization is required in this case, since it's a matter of fleet safety."

"They'd be rolling out the red carpet for us if they knew what we had to tell them," Joker said.

"No kidding," said Shepard.

"I just wish quarians had clear masks so I could see their faces when you tell them you were on their home planet," Joker said. "Speaking of faces... I heard about what you told the admirals after Tali's trial. Something about rubbing Rannoch dirt in their faces. Uh... you're not _really _going to do that today, are you Commander? Ordinarily I'd be all for it, but these are _quarians—_it could kill them."

Joker then quickly looked at Tali and added, "No offense."

"It's tempting, believe me, but it probably won't be good for negotiation," Shepard responded.

"By the way, are you worried at all that they may want to turn us in for that eight million reward?" Joker asked, half joking, half serious.

"The fleet could buy a _lot _of supplies with that much money..." Tali said, fully joking.

Shepard laughed. "I'm not worried. A planet is worth a lot more than eight million credits."

Several minutes passed. "We're being contacted by a ship called the Tonbay," Joker said.

"That's Admiral Shala'Raan's ship," Tali said.

"Put her through," said Shepard.

After a few seconds, Raan's voice was heard. "Captain Shepard, is that really you? Is Tali with you?"

"It's me, Admiral. Tali's here with me," Shepard responded.

"I am glad to hear you two are alright. I've been worried. But why is it that you are here?"

"I'm here to make your day. I need to speak to the admiralty."

Raan seemed surprised by the request. "That will be difficult to arrange. The other admirals may not want to speak to you after last our last meeting. Tali being in exile also complicates things due to..."

Raan kept talking, but Shepard stopped paying attention and said, "EDI, forward the admiral the environmental scans you took of Rannoch while in orbit. In fact, go ahead and send all the data you captured. Holos and all."

"What is all this?" Raan asked after a short moment. "This looks like... no, it cannot be. Ancestors, this can't be what it looks like."

"It is, Admiral," Shepard said, unable to hide a hint of pride in his voice. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Wait until you see the stuff we gathered on the surface."

"The... _surface_?" Raan whispered in awe.

"I was there, auntie Raan," Tali said. "I stood on the homeworld, the land of our people. I saw it with my own eyes."

There was a period of silence.

"I'll let the oth—" Raan's voice broke, fighting back overwhelming emotion, "the others know, right away."

. . .

"You look very handsome," Tali said. "Maybe you should wear that officer's uniform more often."

"Maybe you're use to wearing something so... snug, but I'm not," Shepard responded. They were standing near the bridge, in front of the airlock. "Feels like I can barely move in this thing."

"The docking cradle is connecting now," EDI said. "The quarian admirals will be joining us soon."

"How did you get them to agree to have this meeting here on the Normandy, anyway?" Tali asked.

"Let's just say that they were very eager to learn more about our visit to Rannoch. I figured we could use the home field advantage for once."

"'Home field'?" Tali asked.

"It's a human expression. It comes from—"

Pressurization noises could be heard coming from the airlock, alerting them that the quarians were just about to enter.

"I'll explain later. Here we go," Shepard said quietly.

"Good luck."

"To both of us."

The airlock then opened, and into view came the familiar suits of the four admirals. With them was a squad of well armed quarian marines, lead by none other than Kal'Reegar. Shepard found himself wanting to greet the fellow soldier who he had fought along side with on Haestrom, but knew that would be highly unprofessional. He was on duty after all.

"Greetings, admirals. Welcome to the Normandy." Shepard said in a calm, cool style. Tali was already proud of him, not letting their past encounter with the admirals interfere with this important meeting.

"Hello again, Captain Shepard vas Normandy. Thank you for inviting us to your ship," Admiral Raan said, once again proving to be the de facto leader of the group.

"You have a marvelous ship here, Captain," said Admiral Han'Gerrel.

"Thank you, Admiral," Shepard responded. "I can arrange a tour of the ship after our meeting if you'd like."

"That won't be necessary, but thanks all the same."

"If you don't mind," Admiral Daro'Xen said, "we are all quite eager to learn how exactly you were supposedly allowed access to the homeworld by the geth."

"Of course," Shepard said. "This way to the conference room."

The group walked behind Shepard as he lead them through the CIC, Mordin's lab, and toward the conference room. Tali walked near Shepard, but kept behind him. The admirals resisted the temptation to admire the elegant interior of the Normandy _too _much, but the marines couldn't help delight at the amazing engineering that surrounded them. Many of them had never seen a ship that was so new and state of the art.

During the short walk Tali couldn't help but notice how Admiral Koris hadn't spoken a word. Which was fine by her, as she still held strong resentment toward him for effectively being the one who got her exiled from the fleet. Part of her was curious what he thought about all of this, and that part wished he _had _said something since boarding the Normandy to give her a clue, but she ultimately didn't care.

In the conference room Shepard took position at the head of the table, with Tali near him on one of the sides. The admirals gathered around the table, with the marines closer to the walls. After everyone got settled in place, Shepard reached below the table and pulled up the bag that contained the numerous flora specimens and soil samples gathered on Rannoch.

Shepard opened a container and poured a little bit of Rannoch dirt into his hand.

He said, "This is soil that we gathered on the planet Rannoch. I believe last time we spoke, I made a particular threat in regards to this stuff."

The quarian marines tensed up as the admirals got into slightly defensive stances.

"But I don't like to live in the past. I never have." he said, and let the dirt drop onto the table. He padded his hands together to brush off the excess.

Shala'Raan was the one to ask what every quarian besides Tali in the room was waiting to learn. "How is it you were you able to get all this?"

"It was simple. We asked the geth," Shepard answered, and left a short pause for that to sink in. "In fact, Tali even brought up peace between your two peoples with them, as well as your world being returned."

"That is absurd," Admiral Han'Gerrel said. "What would the geth care about peace? Why would they be willing to abandon what is effectively their world now?"

"Perhaps you don't know them as well as you think you do," Admiral Koris said to Gerrel.

"Of course I do," he replied. "I've spent my whole life studying our past battles with them."

"They nearly annihilated our race," Daro'Xen said. "They assisted a Reaper in attacking the Citadel. They have never shown anything but hostility toward any organic being. I believe by now, we know the geth _quite _well. They are incredible machines; adaptive, intelligent, and ruthless, but machines nonetheless. Machines that seem all too eager to do away with organics."

"That is where you're wrong, Admiral," Shepard said. "I used to assume the same about them. Hell, I've personally destroyed more geth in battle than probably anyone in this room. But all my assumptions about them changed when I made contact with Legion."

"Legion?"

"Legion, that's your cue. Come in," Shepard called out. There was the sound of the armory-side door being opened, followed by footsteps synchronized to the whirring sounds of servos. Legion came into the room.

Immediately all the quarians jumped to attention, gasping amongst themselves. The marines instinctively raised their weapons toward the geth platform staring at them with its bright optic sensor.

"What the hell is this?" Admiral Raan exclaimed.

"Everyone, relax," Shepard said. "His name is Legion. He helped us against the Collectors."

"It is also thanks to Legion that we were allowed on the homeworld," Tali added.

There was a moment of uneasy quiet.

"How?" Koris asked, being the first to speak up. "How was all this possible?" He asked Shepard, but he was staring at Legion.

Shepard and Tali then proceeded to explain everything about Legion. From the improved hardware that granted him intelligence beyond that of a mere varren, to his mission to make contact with Shepard. They also explained about the geth heretics and the true geth. The admirals had numerous questions, and Legion answered all of them. Shepard found himself feeling déjà vu; so many of their questions mirrored his own from when he first met Legion.

"If everything this geth says is true... Ancestors—after so long, our people may yet stand on our homeworld again," said Raan. "Without the need of any blood being spilled."

"That's all well and good," Han'Gerrel said, "_If_, what this geth said is true. But it would be foolish of us to just walk into the Perseus Vail unprepared. Everything this geth has told us makes it all sound too easy. It could be a trap, and if the trap in sprung, there goes our entire race. We need to have all our ships armed and ready for battle."

"A trap?" Koris said. "How can you even say that? Did you pay _any _attention to what this geth had to say?"

"No, Gerrel is right." Shepard said. "Not about the geth; I know they can be trusted. But the quarians need to be prepared for battle."

Shepard continued. "I care deeply about the quarian people, but the truth is, the most important reason that there needs to be peace between the quarians and geth is so that we have a chance against the Reapers. They're on their way, and you two have the largest fleets around. If we as a galaxy can't stand up to them together, then none of this will matter. We'll all be dead; humans, quarian, and geth.

"So if it'll make your people feel better, go ahead and arm your ships. In fact, I'll even forward you the schematics for thannix cannons. You won't need it for the geth, but you _will _need it for the reapers."

"It's too soon for us to make any decisions regarding fleet preparation," Raan said. "But rest assured that we'll take everything you said under advisement; we're well aware that Sovereign was not a geth ship. For now, we have a great deal to discuss with the Conclave. Let us conclude this meeting and get back to the fleet so as to inform the others about all we have learned."

"Very well, Admiral. I'll escort you back to your ship," Shepard said. "Feel free to take these Rannoch samples with you."

"Would you be willing to let this platform come with us?" Daro'Xen asked. "There is a great deal more we could learn about the geth from it."

"I don't know what you _intend _to learn from him, Admiral, but it's out of the question. Legion stays here." Shepard's response was noticeably stern.

"Thank you, Shepard-Commander," Legion replied. "It is our preference to stay aboard the Normandy.

"Very well," Daro'Xen responded.

Raan then said, "Before we go, I want to thank you and Tali—and you as well, uh, 'Legion'—for everything you've shown us today. This meeting could very well be the most important moment in the history of the quarian people."

With that, the quarians prepared to leave. One of the marines picked up the bag full of Rannoch samples as the others began exiting the room. Admiral Koris did not.

"May I have a moment with you, Tali'Zorah?" he asked before she left with Shepard and the others.

Tali remained in the room, and soon it was just the two of them.

"What is it you want?" Tali asked. Her voice had a tone of impatience. And with good reason; despite the meeting they were just in, this was still the man who was responsible for her exile. She did not care for him.

Koris hesitated before responding.

"I... want to apologize. For everything. It wasn't right—how I treated you. Not just in getting you exiled, but in everything I said about you during that trial. You didn't deserve any of that. This meeting proves it."

Tali had her arms crossed as she listened to him. "Are we done, then?"

"I don't expect you to forgive me, and that is fine. I just want you to understand, I never had anything against you personally. I was desperately trying to steer the rest of the fleet from war. I knew where your father stood in regards to the geth, and I knew your views were much the same as his."

Tali didn't say anything.

"We try to keep this a secret, but I'm sure you know already. The fleet is dying. Gradual damage to our oldest ships is occurring faster than we can gather the resources to repair them. That includes the liveships; for three centuries they've fed our people. We're desperate for a home now more than ever. And due to that desperation we've been closer to war with the geth now more than ever. Fighting them could prove to be our extinction, and I'm the only admiral who strongly opposes it."

"And do you think that excuses you? For disgracing me and banishing me from the rest of my people? You could have found some other way of making your point!"

"No. It doesn't excuse me. And yes, I suppose I could have."

Korris walked toward the door of the room, where Tali stood near. He stopped, and said, "Your father and I never agreed on most things. But I worked with him for many years. I knew him well. He was always proud of you. And he would be proud of you more than ever, today. Goodbye, Tali'Zorah."

. . .

The day was nearly over and Shepard was headed toward his cabin to retire for the evening. It had been an eventful day, especially after the meeting with the quarians. The Normandy remained within the flotilla, and he was frequently contacted by various ships. Often he was asked questions about the geth, but there were also technology and resource exchanges. Shepard was able to unload a large quantity of unneeded palladium, which for some reason the Normandy always seemed to have an excess of.

Shepard had also been informed by Raan that the Normandy had been registered with the migrant fleet database of ships, and it would now be allowed to come and go as he pleased. It made Shepard happy that the Normandy was accepted among the flotilla. First the geth, and now the quarians; he may have lost all allies in council space, but his list of new allies was starting to grow.

Shepard walked into his cabin and found Tali inside. Shepard had noticed earlier that she stayed behind to talk to Koris, though he didn't know exactly why. He rightly assumed it had something to do with her past trial, but he hadn't brought it up with her yet.

"Shepard, I just got a message from Raan. You're not going to believe this."

"What happened? Is something wrong?"

"No—just the opposite." She paused a moment. "I've been pardoned by the Admiralty... I'm no longer exiled."

Shepard-s jaw dropped, and his expression immediately turned into a joyful grin. "Tali, that's wonderful news! I can't tell you how happy that makes me feel."

"Me too... I don't think it's fully sunk in yet."

Shepard put his arm around Tali and gave her a squeeze. "I guess getting the quarian homeworld back goes a long way with the admirals, huh? Raan must've had no problem getting the others to change their minds after today."

"It wasn't Raan," Tali said. "It was Koris who proposed pardoning my exile."


End file.
